Amethyst Blood
by bandanaye
Summary: After being beaten up by school bullies in the park, Yugi is left unconcious and alone. Who better to find him than a vampire? YYxY BxR
1. Found

A/N: Okay, I know that I have two other stories to be working on, but I've just wanted to post this one up for quite some time now. So please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh

* * *

Yugi groaned in pain as he tried to move his left leg. That only led to even more pain.

Holding back his tears as best as he could, Yugi remembered exactly what happened earlier…

* * *

_Yugi had been out of school for about a week and a half, for he had caught a terrible cold. Although he loathed being sick, he was mostly relieved that the bullies could do nothing to him for a couple days._

_But all that soon came to an end._

_Hurriedly shoving his books and binders into his locker, Yugi swiftly grabbed his bag, slammed his locker shut and dashed down the hallway._

_Yugi knew what would happen if Ushio and his thugs caught him. They would beat him up, except much, much worse. It would make up for the week he was out._

_He knew that that would happen; he'd seen it happen to his dearest friend Ryou._

_Stopping at the street corner, Yugi looked around. He so far hadn't seen the group of bullies, but Yugi knew better._

_They could be anywhere._

_Deciding to take a shortcut through the park, Yugi scurried across the crosswalk, hoping to blend in with the other people around him._

_Once he was on the park grounds, Yugi walked at a slower pace to catch his breath, but what he saw made him completely freeze._

_There, leaning on one of the park's benches was Ushio and his group smoking cigarettes or some kind of foul drug._

_Feeling slightly lucky that they hadn't spotted him yet, Yugi tried to think of something real quick so that it would stay that way._

_But sadly, as the idea of leaping back into the bush behind him popped into Yugi's head, he was stopped from doing so when a rough hand was placed upon his shoulder._

"_Why, hello Yugi. It has been a while, hasn't it?" Ushio smirked, his eyes narrowing._

_Feeling at a loss of words, the only thing Yugi could do was run._

_Not daring to look behind him, Yugi knew that they'd catch up eventually, and sadly, eventually came pretty quick._

_Entering the woods part of the park, Yugi felt someone grab his bag and pull him back, making him fall to the ground like a sac of potatoes._

_Feeling dizzy, Yugi heard Ushio's voice overhead. "We missed you so much Yugi, that we're going to add in all those other beatings that you missed." A few snickers were heard._

_Then the world seemed to stand still when the group started to kick and punch the poor teen._

_By the time the punches and kicks had stopped, Yugi felt completely like a broken doll. With his heart racing, bruises probably painted upon his body with a few flesh wounds, and feeling unable to move, Yugi started to regret not taking Jou and Honda's invite to the arcade._

* * *

Feeling like he was going to loose consciousness at any given moment, Yugi realized that it had grown dark, and that it started to drizzle.

'_Just…great…'_ Yugi heaved in his mind as the rain started to come down harder.

Wearily blinking, Yugi noticed two feet dressed in black in front of him.

Feeling that this person would more than likely bring him to the hospital, Yugi faintly smiled as he fell into a world of darkness.

* * *

The figure dressed in black lazily looked down at the now unconscious teen.

Feeling the rain becoming stronger upon his shoulders, the figure's crimson eyes narrowed as he sank to his knees to observe the boy more closely.

Since the boy was lying on his stomach, the figure rolled him over onto his back, nearly gasping.

The boy looked so much like himself, but with childish features.

Putting a finger to the boy's face, the figure felt the boy's skin becoming cold, and noticed that the color in his face was quickly fading.

But what the figure really noticed was that there wasn't a scratch on the boy's neck.

It was puzzling, because the figure had watched the beating upon the teen within the safety of the shadows. He watched this boy scream out in agony every time he was hit, but nothing but mere dirt had come in contact with his neck.

'Just a sip.'

Feeling tempted now, the figure slowly lowered his head to the boy's neck and revealed his fangs and bit into the boy's flesh, blood rushing into his mouth.

Quickly pulling back, the figure was stunned. This boy's blood was the richest and purest blood he had ever tasted.

Feeling the urge to drink up the rest of the boy's blood, and just kill him on the spot, the figure stopped himself before doing so.

He had a better idea.

Carefully picking up the boy in a bridal-like fashion, the figure strolled in the rain into what seemed like a different world.

* * *

A/N: There's the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed reading! Please tell me what you think okay?


	2. Strange Places

A/N: Thank you sooo much for all of the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Rolling over onto the right side of his body, Yugi sighed heavily.

His eyes narrowing, the vampire yet again restrained himself draining the boy. This was just getting way too ridiculous. This boy couldn't have been that weak, could he? The vampire had never seen someone sleep for almost two days straight.

Standing up from the stool he had been sitting on, and walked over to the door, he grabbed his coat. Opening the door, the vampire stepped out into the night, locking the door behind him…just in case.

Completely sure that the door was locked, the vampire headed down the path to the portal that separated worlds that was just a couple minutes away.

Walking through the entrance/exit that separated the boy's world from his own, the vampire was greeted by his two closest friends.

"What took ya?" the vampire to his left asked.

Snapping his head to the left, the vampire retorted, "just finishing some things up. You know how busy I always am Bakura."

"What were you doing that was busy for the past two days then?" the vampire to his right asked, as they started to head forward.

"None of your business Marik," the vampire snapped.

"Why such an attitude?" the albino asked, his eyes narrowing.

The vampire sighed. "I said it was none of your business."

"Just leave him alone Bakura, he's in one of those moods again," Marik suggested as they made their way to a small village that was just ahead.

* * *

Yugi rubbed his eyes as he awoke. From what he could see, he was not in a hospital room, for everything was pretty much dark. Glad that there were a few candles lit, Yugi slowly stood up from the bed that he recently was on and looked around.

'_Where am I…?'_ Yugi wondered as he touched the wall.

As far as he could make out, Yugi noticed that he was in some cave, but not your ordinary cave. This cave looked like it was smashed together with a regular house. The room obviously was a bedroom, for there was a bed, a small closet, probably containing a wardrobe, and a simple desk. He started to wonder what the rest of the place looked like…

Starting to become a little frightened as to why he was in this house/cave thing, Yugi hastily made his way over to the door, and grabbed the knob. Turning the doorknob, Yugi found that it was locked. He tried again, but to no avail.

'_Why is this door locked!' _Yugi wondered, starting to become more and more fearful as to why he was here.

Seeing that there was no way he could open the door, Yugi headed back to the bed and sat down. Taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself, Yugi rethought of what had happened before he mysteriously ended up here.

The farthest his thoughts could go was when Ushio and his group of thugs beat him up. Then it became dark, and started to rain when a person came up to him…then he couldn't remember the happenings after that.

After thinking for a few minutes, Yugi suddenly felt his limbs become very heavy for some odd reason. Then his head started to become a little dizzy. _'What's going on?'_

Lying back on the bed, hoping that it would help with his odd predicament, Yugi sighed, now starting to worry about what could possibly happen to him.

Did a mass murderer kidnap him? He did not know. He just hoped that that wasn't the answer.

Worry still in his thoughts, Yugi thought some more, but the more he thought, the more his head started to hurt.

'_What's wrong with me?'_ Yugi wondered, squeezing his eyes shut as his head continued to hurt.

Yugi decided not to think anymore, afraid of what could happen. So lying on the bed like a rag doll, Yugi closed his eyes and prayed that someone would come along.

* * *

"C'mon Atemu, have some fun!" Marik tried again.

Bakura grabbed the vampire named Atemu by the collar. "What's up with you? You've been acting like shit since you came through the portal," he asked, wanting answers.

Atemu slightly smirked. "Heh, I didn't know that you cared about others feelings Bakura. You starting to turn soft?"

Bakura gave him a warning glare and replied, "No, you just seem so miserable. You haven't even made one kill all night!"

"So? What does it matter to you?" Atemu asked, glaring at his friend.

Bakura dropped his glare and stated, "whatever." He then murmured, "I'm going back." Then he was gone, lost in the night.

Marik just waved like an idiot and took off too. Atemu just sighed, "I'll just kill a cow for food then."

Walking a short way to where the village's farm was, Atemu unfortunately found no food for the night, and he didn't feel like breaking in, which would most likely create commotion.

Briskly turning around, seeing that daylight would come rather soon, Atemu walked back to where the portal was.

* * *

Feeling like hours had passed by, Yugi opened his eyes yet again. No one had come yet, and he was starting to remember all the horror movies and books he had read over the years.

Quickly shaking those thoughts away, Yugi slowly sat up. Fortunately, his head wasn't in as much pain as it was a while ago, and his limbs didn't feel as heavy. Rubbing the back of his neck, his hand slid down the right side and when his hand came about an inch and a half away from his collarbone, Yugi froze.

Seeing some dried blood flake off as he moved his fingers over the spot, Yugi now tried to think of what two small holes were doing on the side of his neck. His index finger repeatedly going over them, Yugi once again starting to think of all those horror books and movies, Yugi suddenly realized what these marks could be.

'_I was bit by a vampire…'_

Yugi kept saying that over and over in his head, trying to disbelieve his own words, but he couldn't. Ushio from before could've made them, but Yugi wasn't sure. Looking about the room, Yugi desperately searched for a mirror. He soon found a very small mirror on the desk, and he immediately positioned it so that he could see his neck.

Yugi felt like crying out, but kept that to himself. He had been bit by a vampire…he had been bit by a vampire…Yugi couldn't believe it, there was no way, vampires were just myths, weren't they? Yugi struggled with this question.

Trying to get that question out of his head, Yugi looked at the mirror again. Wait…why did a vampire need a mirror? They couldn't see themselves, right? So maybe a vampire didn't bite him, and it was just Ushio's fault…Yugi's head started to spin.

Clutching his head, hoping that the pain wouldn't come back, Yugi backed up against the door. For a couple minutes, Yugi stood there, leaning against the door, as his headache slowly died down. Suddenly, the doorknob started to turn, making Yugi jump.

Not thinking, Yugi practically dove onto the bed and tried to look like he was still asleep. Sadly, the person would most likely be able to tell that he was awake, for he was still clutching his head because the headache had come back in full force, and he was slightly shaking in nervousness.

Trying to calm himself down, Yugi heard the door open. Then he heard the owner's footsteps pace around the room, muttering things. Then the footsteps came close to the bed and then whoever it was sat down next to him. Yugi sucked in his breath…

* * *

A/N: Sorry I had to end it there! Hope you enjoyed chapter two! Please read and review!


	3. Confusion

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

A few moments passed and whoever it was that was beside him didn't seem to notice that Yugi was awake.

Sadly, Yugi couldn't hold his breath anymore, but knew not to just gasp out. So while he exhaled, his breath seeped out quietly and slowly through his nose, and then inhaled just the same. This seemed like the safest way to breathe to Yugi.

Yugi's nervous trembling had somewhat stopped, since whoever it was beside him wasn't doing anything.

Yugi felt the weight shift beside him, but the person didn't get up. Yugi restrained from moving as the stranger's fingers suddenly brushed along his face.

Yugi could feel that his heart was beating rapidly now, and that some beads of sweat were slowly making their way down his forehead.

'_No, no, no…'_ Yugi couldn't take it anymore. He could no longer pull off this charade. He just had to know who this person was, and get out of this strange place.

Without any second thoughts, Yugi snapped open his eyes, to meet crimson ones staring right back at him.

* * *

Atemu couldn't believe it actually worked! Something actually worked for once!

Atemu's face could have broken out into a smile, but instead he kept a straight face for this boy had just finally opened his eyes.

Although, the vampire wasn't happy because the boy had just waken, he had known that fact the whole time. With the shivering, sweat and breathing patterns, anyone could tell that he was awake. Atemu was just waiting to see the boy's eyes.

As the vampire gazed at the boy, he noted that this boy had the most beautiful amethyst eyes he had ever seen in his life.

'_They're just as sweet as his blood…'_

As he pondered the thought of the boy's blood yet again, Atemu looked down and noticed that the boy was now directing his view to Atemu's slightly opened mouth.

"Y-you're a v-vampire!" the boy blurted out, after a few minutes of staring.

Atemu put on a shocked face and replied, "really? I am? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" His voice dripped with sarcasm.

The boy beside him didn't seem to notice that he had used sarcasm, for confusion was written all over his face.

'_He doesn't know that he's a vampire…?'_ Yugi thought confused.

As the boy seemed to be lost within his own thoughts for the moment, Atemu got off the bed and grabbed a nearby chair and brought it over to the bedside and sat down so that his chest was pressed up against the backrest.

Setting his arms on the top of the chair's backrest, Atemu spoke, "Don't worry, I am in fact a vampire, if that is what you are wondering."

Yugi's head immediately shot up. It was like this vampire had read his mind. "W-why am I here?" he asked timidly, trying to not look directly at the vampire beside him.

"Reasons that you'll know soon enough," the vampire responded, looking into the boy's amethyst eyes again.

Both human and vampire were quiet for quite some time until the boy spoke, "can I go home?"

The question shook Atemu out of his gazing trance as he noticed that the boy was slightly shaking in fear of his own question.

Atemu wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. The boy could go home to wherever he lived, and Atemu could see him anytime he wanted, but the boy had only waken about ten minutes ago…plus, there wouldn't have been any point in taking the boy here in the first place if he was just going to let the boy go.

"I…may-be," the vampire stuttered as he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

As the door slammed behind the vampire, Yugi sat up trying to figure out what exactly was happening. First, he had wakened up to see a vampire hovering over him, staring him right in the face. Second, he muttered something and then the guy muttered something back, and Yugi was now realizing that he had used sarcasm. Thirdly, he had just asked a small question and the vampire reacted in a strange way by leaving him in the room-again.

"Where _am_ I…?" Yugi mumbled to himself.

At first, Yugi had thought that if this person was a vampire, which turned out that he was, he'd suddenly pounce and drain him dry. Something was really wrong here.

And what did 'reasons that you'll know soon enough' mean? Yugi's head started to slightly spin again. Yugi's thoughts took a turn, as he tried to figure out why his head was swimming so much.

Yugi heard the door open again, and the vampire stepped in and slowly took a seat beside Yugi. "You can go home when I say you can," the vampire spoke.

"Okay…why does my head hurt so much?" Yugi asked, trying to keep a distance between himself and the vampire.

Yugi carefully studied the Dracula beside him out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly the vampire turned to look at him and smirked at him. "Probably because of the blood loss."

"B-blood l-loss…?" Yugi stuttered. So this vampire _had_ bitten him. "Um…" Yugi had no clue what to say. How were you supposed to have a conversation with someone that could possibly end your life within seconds? "I…ah…"

"Here, lay down, you're probably still feeling the symptoms. Rest up," the vampire said, gesturing Yugi to lie down on the bed.

'_Why isn't he being so vampire-like?'_ Yugi wondered as he reluctantly lied down. "Okay…"

Soon the vampire left, leaving Yugi to his thoughts. "See you tomorrow…Yugi."

* * *

There were so many unanswered questions. It just made Yugi's head even dizzier. Why had this person kidnap him in the first place? Where was he? How long had he been gone? What was this vampire's name…?

Yugi knew that he could probably just run out of here, and go back home, but he wasn't even sure if he was still in his world or not. He could be in some other kind of dimension unknown to man. Plus, this vampire could kill him on the spot if he tried to run away.

Yugi just did the best thing he could do for now, and that was take the vampire's advice.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, and I hope it made some kind of sense. Anyway, hoped you all liked the chapter, and please review!

Oh, I'm also thinking about changing the title to Amethyst Blood, because as of now, Vampire Love has been so 'ugh' to me. I just want your opinion, okay?


	4. The New and Old

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

"But what am I supposed to do with him for two weeks?" Atemu sighed. "He doesn't even seem interesting to me…he's pretty much clueless anyway."

"Have you even tasted his blood yet?" Marik suggested.

Atemu looked up. "Of course I have…but…oh I don't know," Atemu huffed, putting his head back into his hands.

"How does it taste?" Marik asked.

"His blood?" Atemu questioned. "It's probably the best I've ever tasted in over 3000 years."

Marik looked back at the room Atemu told him the human was staying in. Turning around with a sly smile across his lips, he whispered, "You could keep him here for those next two weeks and…you know…"

Atemu's head snapped up. "Don't even suggest that Marik."

"Geeze, what kind of vampire are you? You're way too soft," Marik scoffed.

"I'm just not interested in your sick suggestions," Atemu replied.

"Whatever. But here's another idea," Marik stated, "keep him here for two weeks as said before, and slowly feed off of him until he's completely drained. It would defiantly carry out that agreement that we all had."

"I guess…have either you or Bakura found anyone yet?" Atemu asked, wanting to change the subject.

Marik smirked. "I haven't, but I think Bakura has already."

Both vampires were silent for a moment before Marik asked, "can I see him?"

"I guess," Atemu answered as he slumped out of his chair and walked over to where the human was. Marik followed him, somewhat anxious.

Slowly turning the doorknob, Atemu and Marik walked in to see a sleeping human.

"He looks kinda like you Atemu, except he looks so much more innocent, and he's really small looking," Marik announced, trying to get a better look at the sleeping human before him.

"Yeah, I know."

"Do you know his name yet?" Marik asked, looking back at Atemu, who was still near the door.

Atemu stepped away from the doorway. "I believe his name is Yugi."

Marik seemed to become bored all of a sudden when he announced, "I should be leaving. Got stuff to do."

As Marik left the room, Atemu followed suit, slamming the door behind him. As soon as Marik was gone and on his way, Atemu's stomach growled.

Atemu thought of going out to get something to eat, but then Yugi crossed him mind. Thinking about Marik's last suggestion, Atemu shook the thought away.

Something inside of him didn't want to drain the boy…and yet…

"I'll only take a couple of sips."

* * *

Yugi woke up at the sound of a door slamming and two people murmuring and then silence. Yugi recognized the first voice to be the vampire that was around him before, but the second voice was new to him. Was it another vampire? Or was it something else that haunted everyone's dreams?

Yugi sat up and stood up from the bed to walk around. Surprisingly, the dizziness didn't show up, and Yugi was thankful for that.

Walking over to where he had set the mirror earlier, Yugi picked it up again, and the question of why a vampire needed a mirror buzzed through his head.

Seeing that the answer would never come up unless he asked the vampire, Yugi set the mirror back in its place and sat down in one of the few chairs that were lying around.

At this point, Yugi was really wishing that the room had a window or something so that he could see where he was. Then, the thought of his friends and grandfather appeared in his mind.

"Grandpa!"

Yugi's mind frantically started to wonder and tried to figure out how long he had been in this strange place. Was his grandpa worrying about him? Where people desperately searching for him at this very moment?

Yugi's thoughts ceased when the door creaked open and the vampire from before walked in, eyeing Yugi in some strange way.

Yugi got up from his seat and walked back, wondering what was going through the vampire's head.

"W-what are you doing?"

The vampire didn't say anything, but looked like he wanted to. "Let's just say that I'm a little hungry, and don't feel like going out tonight."

Yugi immediately knew what he vampire meant and started to panic. He just had to get out of the room, and furthermore, out of this strange place.

Yugi's back touched the wall, and Yugi froze as the vampire came closer, and Yugi noticed that he was starting to bare his dangerous white fangs.

"No, please, don't!" Yugi begged.

When the vampire stopped in front of him, Yugi took notice that the door was wide open. Looking up, the vampire was lowering his head and directing his fangs to Yugi's neck.

Doing the only thing that seemed possible at the moment, Yugi pushed the vampire back as forcefully and as far as he could from himself. Seeing that the vampire was put off guard for the moment, Yugi took that moment and dashed as fast as he could for the door and successfully making it out of the room.

Seeing that he was in some sort of den now, Yugi ran around searching for any door that would lead out. Unfortunately, the vampire that he pushed away was as of now chasing him around the room. To slow the vampire down, Yugi took whatever was in reach, -and in his case were some chairs-, and threw them at the Dracula.

After about three doors, Yugi finally found the right door that lead outside. So practically ripping the door open, Yugi frantically ran out and away from the vampire's home, and into the darkness, not sure of where he was directing himself.

"No, please, wait!" he heard the vampire shout out to him. "You won't survive out there!"

Yugi didn't really hear the vampire's last statement, but nonetheless kept running.

* * *

When Yugi's legs seemed like they were made of lead, and were mercilessly burning, Yugi finally came to a stop. Panting hard and fast, Yugi slumped down and noticed the ground was cold and wet. Looking down, Yugi saw that he was kneeling on a puddle of mud.

"Just what I need," Yugi mumbled, standing up and going to a dry area.

Making sure that he wasn't going to sit in another mud puddle, Yugi knelt down again, still trying to catch his breath. After a couple of minutes, Yugi caught his breath and took notice of his surroundings. He was in the woods, and the wind was gently blowing, making the trees around him creak. The moon wasn't out, so it was pretty much pitch black.

Looking for any source of light, Yugi suddenly found a soft glow ahead of him. _'Must be a small town,'_ Yugi thought.

Standing up from his place in the wet grass, Yugi headed for what he thought was a town. About ten minutes later, Yugi pushed his way through a couple bushes to be met with a small bustling town.

'_Why is this town so active at night?'_ Yugi thought, looking around at all of the shops, and all of the people walking around with baskets full of various items.

Feeling that it was safe enough to just plainly walk around, Yugi stepped out of the bushes he was peering out of. Walking around the town seemed normal, but Yugi couldn't put his finger on what seemed wrong.

As Yugi passed a bakery, he heard a wicked scream from behind.

"Look! Look! There it is! A human!" shrieked a woman that was pointing an ugly finger at Yugi.

Yugi turned around, not sure of what to do. Suddenly, more people started screaming and shouting and pointing gross fingers at him. Then, unexpectedly, a man revealed his face that he was hiding under a hood. Yugi noticed that almost everyone around him was wearing a cloak. Looking back at the man that unveiled himself, Yugi stood stiff at the sight.

The man looked like he had been skinned. Yugi could see all of his veins and muscles, and everything. Yugi started to shake as he looked at everyone else that had taken his or her cloaks off. From witches to zombies to creatures that Yugi had never heard or seen before were staring at him, each with a glint of anger in their eye.

Yugi finally unfroze, and took two steps back. It was like he had been placed in the middle of a horror movie, and he was about to die or something. The only thing Yugi could think about doing was that he should run.

And so he did.

* * *

Atemu really didn't think that the human would have the guts to do what he had just done. Atemu groaned as he pushed away at least two chairs that the human had thrown at him and successfully push him down. Picking himself up from the stone ground, the vampire looked out of the open door.

Atemu saw Yugi disappear into the darkness, obviously unaware of what he could encounter. So grabbing his coat, Atemu walked outside to be met with brisk air hitting his face.

Brushing the weather off, Atemu walked to where he saw Yugi run off.

When Atemu had made it deep into the woods, he suddenly smelled a small scent of the human he had kidnapped. Following the scent, Atemu soon arrived at the small town that he usually visited, or more precisely, where the portal to the human's world stood.

Going into the main street, Atemu noticed that there where hardly anyone around. And the place was usually jam-packed.

'_They must've found Yugi,'_ Atemu thought, slightly amused, but then remembered what the penalty was for a human in this world.

Walking over to a nearby salesclerk that was whispering something to a couple of witches, Atemu causally said, "So, I heard about a human being spotted around here just a couple of minutes ago, know where I can find it?"

The skeleton scratched its skull, in which made a horrible screeching sound in return, and then smiled. "Yup, just saw the mob run around the corner. Seems that they're chasing after a little kid this time. You might want to get to him before everyone else does if you're hungry Atemu."

Atemu smirked. "I'll get right on that."

Taking the direction that the skeleton showed him the mob had taken, Atemu soon caught up with the mob after a couple of minutes. Unfortunately, Atemu saw that the mob had stopped in front of the portal, all looking disappointed.

"Dammit," Atemu cursed under his breath. He was really hoping that Yugi wouldn't find the portal back to his world so quickly.

* * *

Yugi didn't know how he did it, but he made it through what seemed like a portal that separated worlds. At one moment, there were many nightmarish creatures chasing after him, and the next, he was back in his own world.

Yugi could tell that this was his world because he was in a park and the sun had just come out from a previous rainstorm. There were people, walking around with their dogs or family enjoying the last bit of the day. Come to think of it, this seemed like the same day when Ushio and his thugs had beaten him up…

Yugi shook his head and walked into town. After walking around for a few minutes, Yugi decided to walk back home. Yugi finally reached home as darkness started to cover the sky. Opening the front door, Yugi was met with his grandfather giving him a loving embrace.

"Yugi, you're finally home! I thought I told you to come straight home after school today. What happened?" Solomon Motou asked his grandson.

"I…" Yugi trailed off. How was he supposed to tell his grandfather what happed today without sounding like a total lunatic? "…I just ran into some things grandpa, I'm sorry."

"That's alright Yugi. Just don't scare me like that again, all right? I was just about to call the police." Yugi's grandpa asked, worry still clear in his voice.

"Alright Grandpa."

* * *

A/N: There's chapter four! Hope that you all enjoyed. Please read and review!


	5. Stalking

A/N: Enjoy the new chappie!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh

* * *

"Yugi, get out of bed! You'll be late for school!"

Yugi groaned as he rolled out of bed, and in return, fell to the floor with a thud. Picking himself up from the carpeted floor, the young teenager walked over to his closet and pulled out his school uniform.

After he was dressed, and fixed his hair, along with pulling his shoes on, Yugi hobbled downstairs to be met with the welcoming aroma of breakfast.

"Good morning Yugi," Yugi's grandfather greeted.

"Morning grandpa," Yugi replied sleepily as he put some jelly on his toast.

Both grandfather and grandson were quiet until Yugi looked at his watch.

"Gotta get going gramps. See you after school!" Yugi rushed out the door. On his way to school, Yugi met up with Jounouchi and Honda.

"…And then Honda and I got all the pizza ya can eat," Jounouchi concluded happily.

"It was totally worth it Yugi." Honda smiled, remembering the moment.

Yugi smiled as he gripped his backpack's strap tighter. "I didn't even know you guys had that kind of ability."

"Yup. It's kinda like one of those abilities that just show up on its own," Jou laughed. "By the way Yug, just wondering, but, why were ya out so late last night? You usually aren't out that late."

Yugi almost stopped dead in his tracks, but didn't. So it wasn't all a dream then. All that crazy stuff really did happen then. "I…ah…I had to pick up some stuff for grandpa last night. That's all."

Jou seemed to buy the excuse. "Oh. It was just weird to see ya out so late Yugi. Sorry."

"That's okay," Yugi responded.

Taking a sharp turn to the right, the three friends made it to school.

"Hey Ryou."

"Hey guys," the albino replied sleepily.

"Wow Ryou, you look just as tired as Yugi," Honda commented.

Ryou ignored the comment and walked to class, his three friends in tow. When they made it to class, Jou and Honda talked about various subjects that Yugi nor Ryou found very interesting.

"Rough night Yugi?" Ryou asked, putting his head into his hands.

"Yup. I couldn't really sleep. I guess that it's the same for you, am I right?" Yugi answered.

Ryou nodded. "I had some of the most bizarre dreams last night. There were monsters and just a lot of weird stuff that I really don't know how to explain."

Yugi looked at Ryou, his eyes slightly widening. "Ryou did you…" No, he wouldn't ask that question. It really didn't seem possible.

Ryou looked up. "Did I what?"

"Nothing," Yugi responded, looking forward when the teacher came in.

* * *

Yugi threw his backpack on his bed as he took off his shoes.

"Why do we have to have so much homework?" Yugi mumbled to himself as he took out one of his books. "I have to run the game shop today…"

Yugi only got through about half of the reading when he gave up and went downstairs. He didn't feel like doing homework today, there were too many thoughts swimming in his head. Going to the shop's counter, Yugi slumped into the chair that was behind the register.

Yugi didn't know why he was here, for there weren't any customers today. In fact, it had been a while since there had been a customer.

Sighing, Yugi thought about the previous day. He was still debating whether it was all just a dream or not, but since Ryou said that he had a monster filled night, Yugi was thinking otherwise. Could it be that they just had a similar dream? Or were all the monsters he had thought were real when he was five a reality?

Yugi closed his eyes, remembering the vampire he had met and all of those horrific creatures that were chasing him. He was pushed out of his thoughts though, when the front door opened, and the little bell rang. Looking up half expecting a customer, he was met with his grandpa.

"You're home early, grandpa," Yugi said, getting up to help his grandpa with grocery bags.

"My errands were finished early today Yugi. Have you finished your homework yet?" Solomon asked, setting a bag on the kitchen counter.

"No, I haven't. I wanted to work the game shop today," Yugi answered.

Solomon opened the fridge. "That's really sweet Yugi, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again, homework comes first. I don't want you up late tonight."

"All right grandpa," Yugi said, rubbing his still sleepy eyes as he made his way upstairs again.

'_Why am I so tired all of a sudden?'_ Yugi wondered. Yugi pondered the thought for a moment before it hit him. Memories of the previous night flooded in his head.

Now walking at a faster pace, Yugi went into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Pulling off his school jacket, Yugi pulled down his shirt's collar to take a look at his neck.

"It's not there!" Yugi exclaimed, tracing over the spot he had been bitten.

Yugi's mind swam, various thoughts colliding with each other. None of it made sense, and Yugi wasn't sure whether it was a dream or not. Checking his neck for the millionth time, Yugi yet again found no bite mark.

Walking out of the bathroom, Yugi returned to his room, hoping that his homework would take his mind off of the crazy subject of vampires.

* * *

The white haired vampire paced around the familiar village. He had no clue that the little runt could get away like that. Atemu and Marik would for sure laugh at him if they found out that he had lost his victim.

Bakura growled. He had everything going so great at the moment; his victim was scared stiff, and Bakura was just about to take a bite when Marik had barged in. Then Marik just _had_ to talk for like an hour, and within that hour, his victim just happened to sneak out, and possibly left his world.

Bakura would just have to strangle Marik later.

Unfortunately, Bakura found himself wishing he had Atemu's abilities. He'd be able to get his victim back easily and still be able to win the bet. That is, unless Atemu and Marik found out. Then he'd loose.

Bakura hated loosing.

Bakura wandered through the village aimlessly and stopped when he overheard some dwarfs speaking about something that came to Bakura's interest. Hiding behind a corner, Bakura listened.

"No, no, there were actually two sightings of a human!"

"Are you sure? I only heard of one. And I almost got my hands on it!"

"Really? I don't believe you…"

"No, really. I've actually been waiting for a human to show up one of these days. I just love what the penalty is."

The second dwarf laughed. "Yes, I just love the penalty. But it's a shame, it went through the portal at the last second."

"What about the other? Did it make it through the portal too?"

"I said there was only one!"

Bakura ceased listening when the two broke out fighting. "Two humans eh…? Either Marik or Atemu have a victim now then," he said to himself.

"I wonder which."

* * *

Atemu stepped out of the portal, fully determined to find Yugi. Making sure that he had retracted his fangs so that if in any case he had to talk to a human, they wouldn't freak out on him. Walking through the familiar park, Atemu stopped when he came in contact with sunlight.

A thought of how he would find Yugi came into his mind, but he merely brushed it off. Taking off again, Atemu entered Domino city, where Domino High was just letting its student's out.

'_Maybe this is Yugi's school,'_ Atemu thought, now looking for Yugi, hoping that he'd come out of the doorway.

After about waiting for about ten minutes for Yugi, Atemu guessed that this wasn't Yugi's school. Getting out of his hiding spot, -which was behind a tree-, Atemu made his way down the street, not really knowing where he was directing himself.

Atemu's stomach growled. Looking up, he saw to teens with blue jackets on. One student had blonde, poofy hair, while the other had brown hair that looked like it pointed out in the front.

'_They would make a perfect meal,'_ Atemu thought, but shortly decided against it, not wanting to draw attention.

After a few minutes of following the two loudmouths, Atemu grew bored, and took another direction. Atemu wandered aimlessly through Domino's streets and was just about to go back when a small form with red, black and some blonde streaks came into view with the corner of his eye.

"Finally," Atemu breathed, now starting to stalk little Yugi.

It was about a fifteen-minute walk to where Atemu saw Yugi walk into a game shop. Atemu decided to not go in just yet, but he'd wait. When Atemu became tired of waiting, he decided to go in, that is until an elderly man came in, his hands full with paper bags.

* * *

Solomon Motou heard his grandson shout something, but decided not to go check up on Yugi this time. He'd probably just say it was his homework or something like that.

Shuffling around the counter, Solomon finally found the newspaper and flipped a couple pages. Halfway through the article he was reading, a little bell rung, which signaled that someone was coming in. Solomon smiled.

"How may I help you sir?" Solomon asked, standing up from his chair.

"I'm one of Yugi's friends from school. I'm here to help Yugi on a school project. Is he home?" the teen asked, walking up to Mr. Motou.

Mr. Motou pondered the response for a moment. This boy didn't seem very familiar, and Solomon came to the conclusion that the boy was a transfer student or something like that that was paired up with Yugi for a school project of some sort.

Solomon smiled. "Of course. He's just upstairs in his room. Third door on the right," Solomon directed.

Atemu smiled at the old man as he walked up the stairs. When he reached the second floor of the game shop, Atemu counted one, two doors and came to a stop at the third. So this was Yugi's room.

Not even thinking of knocking, Atemu grasped the doorknob and gently turned it. Opening the door, Atemu stepped into a small room. The room contained a small bed, closet that probably held Yugi's clothes, a couple of posters on the wall, a skylight, and a desk.

Atemu looked at the desk again and noticed a small form sitting in a chair behind the desk. Yugi appeared to be wearing headphones as humans called it, and he was doing homework of some sort. Yugi didn't seem to notice Atemu was paying him a visit.

Thinking of the best way to make his appearance known to Yugi, Atemu slid over to Yugi's bed and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his curled up fists. Now all he had to do was wait.

Atemu started to wonder if Yugi was blind or deaf or something like that until Yugi took off the headphones and leaned back to stretch. Yugi kicked both his feet up on his desk and two legs of his chair lifted off the ground. Yugi had his eyes closed for the moment then reopened them to see his somewhat upside down doorway.

Yugi started to wonder why his door was opened then thought that maybe he left it open by mistake. Suddenly, Yugi tensed, and he looked over to his side to see what was on his bed.

What Yugi saw made him completely fall back in his chair.

On his bed was that vampire that kept invading his thoughts. On his bed, was that vampire, smirking at him and tilting his head at him, probably laughing at his awkward position on the floor.

Yugi scrambled to stand up and get out of the room, but the vampire was faster. The vampire had guessed Yugi's plan and walked over to the door and slammed it shut by the time Yugi was standing on two feet.

Atemu stepped forward and Yugi scurried back against the wall, obviously terrified. Atemu pressed up against Yugi and took his chin forcibly.

"We need to talk."

* * *

A/N: Sorry if this chapter seemed a little slow. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, next chapter will explain why Atemu is allowed to walk out in broad daylight and such, if you were wondering. Please read and review!


	6. Portals

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Yugi forcefully squished his back up against his bedroom wall, trying to put more space between himself and the deadly vampire who was staring at him with intense eyes.

"W-what do you want?" Yugi squeaked, beads of sweat forming upon his brow. What did this vampire and him have to converse about?

The vampire inched forward a little more, completely closing the space between the two, and all the while grasping Yugi's chin tighter and tighter. Then with a glint in his eyes that Yugi couldn't decipher, the vampire responded, "You need to come back to my world."

Yugi's brain then scrambled. Why him of all people did this crazy vampire want him to go back to that monster filled world for? Did he miss something?

Yugi gathered up all the courage he could muster. Maybe he could ask a question that would distract the vampire. "Where are your fangs, and why can you walk out in the sunlight?" Yugi asked a little too quickly.

The vampire seemed puzzled by the random question, but went along with it. "Simple," the Dracula started with his deep voice. "All vampires such as myself can retract our fangs; that's how we feed without our victims becoming suspicious," the vampire explained. Then, "as for why I can walk in daylight, one vampire that is born every three thousand years is-" The vampire stopped.

Yugi's mind wandered as the vampire spoke. He looked at the door that was closed just a few feet behind the mythical creature and started to think of an escape plan. Slightly looking up, the vampire had momentarily closed his eyes, and Yugi also noted that the vampire had completely let go of his chin.

It was now or never.

Pushing the vampire forward, Yugi slid out and away from his bedroom wall. Dashing as fast as he could out of his room as he could, Yugi ripped the door open and ran downstairs, and started to look for his grandfather.

* * *

Atemu half expected Yugi's actions. Although he really didn't get to the point he was hoping to get to, Atemu remembered his back up plan.

Reaching into his coat pocket, he withdrew a small packet that read "Dream Portals".

Ripping the top of the paper packet off and dropping it into the trashcan that was nearby, Atemu looked around Yugi's bedroom, looking for a cup that Yugi would drink out of.

Finally finding a mug of coca on Yugi's desk that was filled to the rim of the glass, Atemu quickly emptied the package of dust in the drink. Fortunately for him, Yugi wouldn't suspect a thing, for the taste wouldn't change, and the drink wouldn't turn green or anything. It would be like Atemu didn't even touch it.

Exiting Yugi's bedroom, Atemu walked into a different room that had a window he could reach without breaking anything. Slipping out of the window, and falling onto the soft grass below, Atemu made his way back to his world, to wait for Yugi's arrival.

* * *

"Grandpa! Whom did you send up to my bedroom?" Yugi asked frantically, leaning over the shop's counter.

Solomon Motou lowered the newspaper, now realizing that his grandson was talking to him. "Yes, Yugi?"

Yugi grasped the counter's edge harder so that his knuckles turned white. "Whom did you send up to my room?"

Yugi's grandfather scratched his head, trying to remember who it was that he invited into his house to see Yugi. Within a couple moments Mr. Motou finally remembered. "Just one of your classmates Yugi. He said he was here to help finish up a school project with you. He knew your name, so I thought that you would know him too."

Yugi breathed out the breath he was holding. Feeling suddenly foolish for an odd reason, Yugi smiled. "Sorry Gramps, I guess I just didn't recognize him at first. Sorry for the outburst." He didn't want his grandfather to worry.

When his grandpa didn't reply, Yugi took his leave. Going at a fast pace up the stairs, Yugi ran into his room, to only find it empty. Where did the vampire go?

Looking upstairs in every room and corner, fifteen minutes later, Yugi still found no trace of a vampire that looked identical to himself. "Stupid imagination," Yugi muttered under his breath.

Trudging back to his room, Yugi securely closed his door this time and picked up his fallen chair, and then proceeded to finish his homework, carefully sipping at his cocoa every now and then.

Four hours later…

Yugi looked at his clock. It was almost nine, and he still hadn't finished his homework. His head had been invaded with thoughts of vampires and such way too many times, and now he'd suffer for it. He had had dinner about an hour ago, and that also delayed him.

Rubbing at his drooping eyes, Yugi fought the urge to sleep. Just one more paragraph on this stupid essay and…

…Yugi had fallen asleep right on his desk.

A couple minutes later, Solomon Motou had ventured upstairs to check up on his grandson. Today, Yugi had been acting strangely. He seemed exhausted more than ever, and seemed a little too jumpy. He hadn't seen Yugi's friend leave yet, and just guessed that he had left when he wasn't looking.

Knocking on Yugi's door, he got no response, and he carefully slid it open, glad that Yugi had not locked it. Stepping into his grandson's room, Solomon found Yugi fast asleep on his desk, probably with unfinished homework. Sighing with disappointment that Yugi hadn't finished his homework today, Solomon carefully lifted Yugi's small form off of his chair and settled him onto his bed.

Pulling the covers over Yugi, Solomon kissed his grandson's brow, wishing him to get some rest before closing the door behind him.

* * *

The albino teenager shifted in his chair, feeling uncomfortable. Chewing on his pen cap, Ryou finally thought of the answer he was supposed to answer and quickly wrote it down so that he wouldn't forget it in the next minute.

Sighing a sigh of relief, Ryou leaned back into his chair, and after a couple minutes of stretching, he then collected all of his homework and put it into his book bag for tomorrow.

Turning off the lamp that was on his desk, Ryou pulled himself up and went down the small hallway to prepare himself for bed. Turning to the right, Ryou was about to walk into the small bathroom to brush his teeth, but a hand covered his mouth and pulled him back.

"Mmt gm! Mmt gm!" Ryou tried to call out, but his voice was muffled for the moment.

The being that was holding the teenager walked backward, and in the process, made Ryou stumble every now and then. What was happening? Who was this person? What was going to happen to him?

As they were passing through the small living room, Ryou noted that the mystery person was turning off all the lights in the apartment.

Struggling to get out of this person's death like grip, Ryou stopped for a brief moment, as he felt his hair that was curled around his neck be swept away. It couldn't be who he thought it was-was it?

Since the person only had one arm around Ryou's torso, Ryou kept struggling, almost out of the hold. Then, suddenly almost as quick as he was put into a strong hold, something pierced his throat. White-hot intense pain filled Ryou's whole body, and he couldn't help but scream.

The last thing Ryou knew was that his kidnapper had put a hand over his mouth again; probably to lower the amount of noise he was creating.

* * *

_He tripped on his feet yet again. Falling into the mud puddle, Yugi easily picked himself back up just like he had done numerous times before. _

_He didn't know what exactly he was running from, but he had seen that skinless man again. Come to think of it, he'd seen witches, skeletons, dwarves, imps, ogres and numerous creatures. But they weren't following him like they had before. _

_Yugi came to an intersection, not sure of which way to go. He had four choices: go to the right, left, forward, or he could head back. He for sure knew that he didn't want to go back. Without realization, his feet started to move to the road on the left. _

_The teen couldn't really stop the direction he was leading himself, so he just kept going, not expecting what was coming next. _

_Yugi stopped in the middle of the dirt road, now taking in his surroundings. There were oversized trees probably two hundred feet up, and they were all around him. It all seemed familiar; he just couldn't place where he'd seen them before. The sky had dramatically changed. At first, it was a welcoming blue sky, but now it was like a black hole. The dirt road he was standing on only a couple minutes ago had turned into wet, almost oily grass. _

_Looking forward now, Yugi noticed a small light ahead of him now. Deciding whether he wanted to travel to the unknown place, Yugi's feet yet again decided for him. _

_Instead of running, Yugi was thankful that he hadn't started running. Cautiously walking up to the small cave like home before him, Yugi looked through the door's peephole, but found darkness. Curious as to who lived here, Yugi's small amount of fear left him suddenly. _

_Opening the door, Yugi walked in, to be met with a warm welcome. Yugi decided that he liked this place. It felt safe, warm, and loving. Yugi looked around, and found himself in a small den. There was a lit fireplace, and a couple of chairs were on the ground. Picking them up, Yugi wondered what caused them to be pushed down. _

_Yugi pushed the thought away as he entered another part of the house. It was a bedroom, and for some reason the main color everywhere was a deep, rich, crimson. Yugi looked at the walls and found no decorations upon them, and then he looked at the floor and found a small rug that surrounded the bed. Yugi noticed that there were no other pieces of furniture in the room, and then he looked at the crimson engulfed bed. _

_It looked really soft and welcoming, but Yugi didn't want to be rude and mess up the perfectly made bed. Yugi decided that he'd just go over and feel what fabric it was that adorned the bed and amazingly found it to be pure silk. Yugi ran his hand over the comforter again and the next minute he found himself laying on it. _

_Yugi forgot about being rude and just lay there for a while. This bed made him feel no worries of what was going on in his head for the past two days and it made him feel relaxed. With one blink of his eyes, Yugi found himself fast asleep._

Yugi jolted awake when he heard a faint crash.

'_Grandpa probably just broke something again…'_ Yugi thought drowsily.

Shaking the suggestion off, Yugi was just about to drift back to sleep when he realized that he wasn't in his cluttered room anymore. Now, fully awake, Yugi sat upright in bed and realized that he was in the room that he'd been in his dream from before.

Everything seemed the same as in his dream. Everything was painted in crimson, not much furniture, a small rug surrounding the bed, and nothing on the walls.

Rolling off the bed as fast as he could, Yugi ran over to the door, and was relieved when it wasn't locked. Opening the door, Yugi cautiously walked out of the bedroom and rushed through the all too familiar home. Seeing the door that would lead him out, Yugi quickened his pace.

But before he could reach his destination, Yugi was roughly grabbed from behind.

Turning around, Yugi was forcefully crushed into an all too familiar face. "What have you done? Why am I here?" Yugi shouted at the man, forgetting that he was yelling at a vampire.

The vampire raised an eyebrow, and then seemed to snap. "You are here because I wish for you to be here," the vampire said, his voice raising. "You were transported here by a portal that you unlocked when you where dreaming. I'm guessing that you're wondering what that means, don't you?" the vampire questioned at Yugi.

When the boy shuddered, the vampire then decided to lower his voice a bit. "When you and I last encountered, you managed to run away. Fortunately, you had a drink on your desk, and I for say, 'poisoned it'. So when you drank it, it would make you sleepy and then you'd dream," the vampire explained. "Then, you would dream, and that dream that you had, transported you here, mentally and physically."

Yugi drank in the explanation, not really seeing how it was possible. But then again, nowadays, anything seemed possible. "Alright," he replied.

"All right what?" the vampire questioned.

Yugi gulped silently. "I believe you."

* * *

At first Yugi had struggled to get away from the offending man. Even though he had just said that he had believed the demon he didn't want to be here, and furthermore, he didn't want to be here with a deadly vampire that could kill him on the spot.

Before Yugi was totally drained off all of his energy, Yugi had managed to somewhat slip out of the vampire's hold and try to make yet another run for it. But when the vampire was only holding him by his wrist, the Dracula had twisted him back into his chest, like they were doing some kind of professional dance. He then took out a small bottle, ripped the quark off with his teeth, and practically shoved the liquid down Yugi's throat.

Feeling like he had really been poisoned his time, Yugi gagged on the rusty flavor of the potion and suddenly, his body had gone numb. Only then did the vampire pick him up and sat him down on a chair and shoved another potion down Yugi's throat that would keep him numb longer than usual.

From there on, Yugi had only been able to sit in his numbness only asking random questions and listening to their answers. He soon found himself learning a lot more than he expected.

He still had yet to learn why exactly why he was here, but the vampire didn't seem like he wanted to share that bit of information at the moment. What he had learned however was that he was supposed to stay in this creature's world for two to three weeks tops. Yugi still had yet to agree with that however.

"So all vampires can retract their fangs?" Yugi asked quietly from his chair on the other side of the room. He had insisted on it, for he wasn't sure he could actually trust the demon at the moment.

The vampire across from him sighed. He didn't seem to like Yugi's idea. "Yes, we all can. It helps us a lot when we are hungry for humans."

Yugi's stomach clenched. That sentence didn't seem right. It actually sounded like a threat of some kind. "Then can all vampires walk out in sunlight like you?" he asked timidly, wanting to change the subject.

The vampire seemed eager to change the subject too, for he answered quite eagerly. "No, actually. There are only about three of us that can do that. You see, once every three thousand years, when a vampire is born, a spell is put on one newborn vampire. Fortunately, that was me," the vampire explained. "The spell grants me availability to walk around in sunlight without burning up. And quite frankly, I find that at a great advantage for myself."

Yugi found himself very interested in the vampire's words. "Is there a specific name for that?" he asked, his confidence rising a little.

"Actually yes," the vampire started. "Technically, I'm a daywalker."

"A 'daywalker'?" Yugi questioned. In none of his books or horror movies had he ever heard of a 'daywalker'. He tucked this in the back of his mind for later.

The vampire nodded. "Yes, a daywalker. As I've said before, it was a spell I was put under when I was born three thousand years ago."

Yugi stayed quiet for a moment, no other questions popping into his head. There was only one that he could think of, besides the question of why he was here. "What's your name?"

The vampire shifted in his seat for a moment, and then looked behind him, like he was making sure that his secret would be kept only with Yugi.

"You can call me Atemu."

* * *

A/N: Atemu's such an ass in this chapter, I swear. Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter, and please read and review!


	7. Hobbits

A/N: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

His head was swimming wildly. He couldn't remember what had happened, and when it happened, but he knew exactly where he was.

Sitting up in the chair that he was placed in who knows how long ago, Ryou rubbed his aching head. Blinking a couple times, the teen's head finally calmed down. Standing up with little effort, Ryou wandered around the small space, looking at the plain walls.

'_Everything's so dark…'_ Ryou observed.

Finding nothing of interest, Ryou sat back down in the uncomfortable chair that was placed in the corner of the room. There was no escape this time, and Ryou simply didn't know what to do. He didn't even know where that cursed vampire was.

Last time had been really easy. He was just lying down on the cold, hard floor and there he had met a vampire. He wasn't sure that it was even possible for vampires to exist, but now he thought otherwise. Then, a guy with sandy blonde hair that stuck out in many directions came in and gave Ryou a good amount of time to slip out and run out of the mystifying world.

But getting out of this world wasn't easy. Goblins, witches, ogres and many more creatures seemed angry with him and started to chase him for some reason. But thankfully, he had made it through the small green portal in the nick of time.

But how that vampire had found his apartment, he still didn't know.

Maybe the vampire had put a tracking device or something on his clothes, or followed him home. But by the time he had gotten home, it was still bright out, and last he knew, vampires couldn't walk out in sunlight, otherwise they would burn up and die. So the vampire couldn't have followed him.

Pondering on the subject, Ryou was ceased when a figure came up out of nowhere. Ryou scooted back into his small chair, knowing that it was the vampire from before.

Ryou could faintly see an outline of a slender face, and a long mane of white hair that looked just like his. The vampire was clad in mostly black, but there were some traces of the color red-mainly on the vampire's hands.

"Stay back!" Ryou called out, fear rising faster and faster.

The vampire ignored the teen's comment, and only walked forward. Ryou stood up without realizing it until the vampire pushed him up against the wall. What had he done wrong?

"You're pretty damn lucky I'm not supposed to kill you," the vampire started in a venomous voice. "For, if this wasn't a win-loose situation, you'd be in a lot more trouble than you are now."

Ryou didn't know what the man was talking about, but knew that he was pretty worked up. "D-don't hurt me," Ryou stuttered, seeing that the vampire was raising his fist.

The white haired vampire looked puzzled for a moment, before noticing his curled up fist. "You're staying here, so that means no running away, or I _will_ hurt you. Don't think otherwise," The vampire warned. Ryou could swear he heard the vampire mutter, "this is never going to work…"

Ryou cracked open an eye, seeing that the vampire was returning to wherever he came from. "Wait!" he called out, not sure if he should have.

The vicious vampire turned around, and glared at him. "What?" he snapped.

Ryou wasn't sure if he should be asking, but he somehow had no control over his speech anymore. "What's your name?"

The mythical creature continued to glare at him until he turned away. "Bakura," he replied dangerously. And like magic, he was gone.

Ryou let out his breath, and slumped down to the dirt-like floor, thinking things over.

* * *

Yugi's numbness was starting to wear away, but he didn't want to let Atemu know that. He didn't feel like having another potion shoved down his throat.

They hadn't conversed much after Yugi had learned the vampire's name, and Yugi liked it that way. It just felt weird talking to someone that could take your life away in a matter of moments.

Yugi shifted in his chair, hoping that he wasn't moving too much for Atemu to notice. The silence was getting a little too awkward for him, and he need to break it. "How do you know my name? I've never told you."

It was such a stupid question in Yugi's mind, but he couldn't think of anything better, other than why he was here. Atemu responded quickly.

"I don't know. You just look like a Yugi. I seem to do that a lot actually," Atemu explained, smirking.

"Oh," Yugi said in a small voice.

Yugi noticed that Atemu had nothing more to speak of, and just shifted in his seat. Was he nervous?

"How about we go out for a walk?" Atemu suggested, standing up from his seat.

Yugi was confused now. One minute, this vampire is shoving potions down his throat to make him go numb, and the next minute, he's all nervous like, almost like he was a first date. Weren't vampires supposed to be mean, and relentless?

"I'm still numb from before," Yugi mumbled to himself, thinking that Atemu wouldn't hear his comment. But as always, Yugi's thoughts never came true.

"Then I'll carry you," the vampire stated. Before Yugi could even protest, he was lifted up into the arms of a dangerous being. When Yugi opened his mouth to protest however, Atemu shot him a harsh glare and Yugi immediately clamped his mouth shut.

As Atemu stepped out into the crisp night air, Yugi shivered, but Atemu didn't seem to notice. "Where are we g-going?" Yugi asked, his teeth starting to chatter from the coldness.

"A friends house. I'm bored," the vampire said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh," Yugi said, feeling slightly stupid from asking the question.

About fifteen minutes later, the human and vampire arrived at a small cave. Yugi at this point was freezing out of his mind, and his teeth couldn't stop chattering. "Is-is it w-warm in th-there?" he asked hopefully.

"I would think so," Atemu said, not even acknowledging Yugi's shivering form. Walking into the cave, the deeper they went, the warmer it became, and Yugi thanked that.

When Atemu stopped, he dropped Yugi down to the ground, now aware that Yugi wasn't numb anymore. Seeing that Yugi was taking his sweet time on getting up off the floor, Atemu took hold of Yugi's arm and roughly raised him up from the ground.

Yugi didn't really respond to when Atemu just dropped him like a sac of potatoes, but nonetheless tried to pick himself up. Obviously, he wasn't going fast enough for the Dracula, for he was roughly pulled up. Taking in his surroundings now, Yugi took in the scene.

There wasn't much, just a few candles lit, and some chairs scattered around. It didn't look that welcoming to Yugi. It probably belonged to one of Atemu's friends. As of now, Yugi didn't want to meet Atemu's friend at the moment.

"Bakura? You home?" Atemu called out, still keeping his tight grip around Yugi's arm.

Nothing happened for a moment, but within a couple more moments, another vampire was in view. "What Atemu? I don't have the time," he snapped.

"Geeze, no need to get defensive Bakura. Just decided to drop by," Atemu spoke carefully, trying to not upset his companion. "Why are your hands bloody?" he asked, noticing Bakura's blood stained hands.

"None of your business," the white haired vampire responded quickly. "Is that your victim?" he asked suddenly, pointing towards Yugi.

"Yes, he is." Atemu smirked. "You find anything yet?"

Bakura chuckled for a moment. "The bet was to find a human, Atemu, not a hobbit," he laughed even more when Atemu's victim's eyes went wide for a moment. "And yes, I have."

Atemu glared at his friend for a second before countering, "he is a human. If he was a hobbit, he wouldn't be wearing shoes, now would he?"

"I was just kidding, no need to get mad Atemu," Bakura frowned, going back to the way he was when he met Atemu only a couple of minutes ago. "So what do you want?"

Atemu smiled at his friend's sudden mood change. It always seemed amusing to Marik and himself. "I'm bored back at my place."

"And what do you expect me to do about it? You have that human of yours to keep you company now, right?" Bakura smirked. "Who knows what things you can accomplish with it," he added in a sly tone.

Atemu's eyes narrowed at Bakura's suggestion. "I'm not about to give up the bet that easily Bakura," he stated coldly.

"It was just a suggestion," Bakura said, his hands up in defense. "Now, I suggest that you go bother someone else, I have my own matters to attend to," he said as he vanished into thin air.

Atemu was silent for a couple minutes before muttering, "Well, that was a bunch of bull." Then turning around swiftly, Atemu dragged Yugi to their next destination.

* * *

"Take your shoes off," Atemu demanded.

"Why? I'm already freezing," Yugi protested, trying to make his arms warm.

Atemu sighed. "Because we're going into the village. And I'm guessing that you don't understand what they'll do to you, since you're a human," Atemu explained.

Yugi only half understood Atemu. He thought back to when he was being chased by all of those creatures, and started to think of what could've happened to him if he was caught. "I know what you're saying, but why do I have to take off my shoes?"

"Hobbits don't wear shoes, and their short. You already have half of an appearance of a hobbit. Now take them off," Atemu argued, starting to get a little frustrated.

Yugi didn't like to be called a hobbit. Although he'd admit it to himself, he did have half of an appearance of one. But still… "But I'll be with you. You're probably the most dangerous ah…person here. No one would have the guts to threaten you," Yugi tried.

Atemu bit his bottom lip. "You still don't understand. There are other beings in that village that are much more powerful than myself. You'd be taken away in a flash."

Yugi looked at Atemu and knew he meant what he said. "Fine, but don't let the name grow on you." Untying his shoes, Yugi took each one off, until he was only standing in his socks.

"Socks have to go too."

Yugi huffed. He was seriously going to get sick out here. Within a minute, Yugi pulled off both of his socks and was left barefoot.

Atemu looked at Yugi for a moment, and then messed up his hair with his hands. "Sorry, but someone would notice," Atemu apologized, looking Yugi up and down now. "You look like a real hobbit now."

Yugi sulked. He didn't agree to stay with this crazy vampire to be called and dressed up like a hobbit-wait he never agreed to stay. "Wouldn't I be taken away anyway? Aren't hobbits nice or something?" Yugi asked, realizing the facts.

Atemu rolled his eyes. When would the questions stop? "Yes, they are, but if you're disguised as a hobbit, you won't be taken away. Most of the beings out there will probably think that you're my next meal that I decided to take home," Atemu explained, looking over the bush they were hiding behind.

Atemu stood up and roughly grabbed Yugi again, then dragged him into the village. Yugi was really hoping that Atemu's words were true. "Just stay by my side, and try not to look anyone in the eye; creatures around here get really angry really fast," Atemu advised.

Yugi did as told and kept his head bent. But that became all too hard to hold when they were passing by the familiar green portal.

"What's that doing here? It shouldn't be here," a creature called out, pointing to Yugi's form.

Yugi's eyes widened when he saw a finger point at him. He quickly lowered his head and hoped that Atemu would do something.

Since there wasn't much commotion after the creature's outburst, Yugi guessed that Atemu must've given the people around them a glare or something. But that's when he fell to the stone ground.

Wincing at the action, Yugi picked himself up but was only kicked down again. Creatures of all kinds were kicking and shouting at him, and Atemu was nowhere in sight. Had they found out that Yugi was a human? Or was it because Atemu wasn't around?

As kicks and some stones collided with Yugi's body, Yugi just stayed down on the ground. All around him he could hear, "Get out you dirty hobbit!" and "Good luck to ya!" Yugi now knew that they thought he was a hobbit, but Yugi wasn't concerned about that. From what Atemu said, something terrible would happen.

As Yugi clutched his stomach, another kick was placed in his back. Tears starting to form in his eyes, Yugi cried out. Where was Atemu? Was this just a scheme to get him hurt? What was this penalty all these monsters kept talking about?

Curling up into a tight ball, Yugi felt something pick him up and shout, "Back off! That's _my meal_!"

Yugi knew that voice, and could instantly tell who it was. Suddenly, all of the shouts had died down, and as far as Yugi could see, all the monsters where going back to their own business.

"Are you alright?" Atemu's voice sounded.

Yugi nodded, wincing when Atemu shifted him in his strong arms. "What just happened?"

"Probably a witches spell. Damn witches like to cast random spells out in the open, and I think that that spell was made to separate people," Atemu explained.

"How?" Yugi asked as he was placed on the ground again, but this time standing up.

"They more than likely cast an invisible cloud, and whoever steps through it is separated," Atemu started, "But I thought that I was still holding your arm, until you just vanished out of my grip that is."

"That makes sense…" Yugi muttered to himself. "Where are we going?"

"Another friends house," Atemu responded, seemingly forgetting the last event. So grabbing Yugi's arm once again, he dragged the imitation hobbit to his next destination.

* * *

Ryou opened his eyes as the vampire named Bakura came back.

"Get up," Bakura snapped.

Ryou knew that the vampire was not in the best of moods, so he hastily stood up, almost falling at his own action. He noticed that Bakura's hands were still bloodied.

"Why are your hands-" Bakura grabbed the front of his shirt, and hauled him forward was what cut him off. Then, in a flash, the two were out of the dark room and in a dimly lit cave.

"Sit there," Bakura spat, practically shoving Ryou into a seat.

Ryou was puzzled. The vampire seemed a little more shaky, and nervous. Then Bakura was running his hands through his long hair and heaving the word, 'okay' quite often.

"Ah…I, what do you want to do?" Bakura asked awkwardly.

Ryou's confidence seemed to boost up. "What?" This didn't make sense. One second ago, the vampire looked like he was ready to kill something, and now he was asking a question that one of his friends would ask when they're bored. "What do you mean by, 'what do you want to do'?" Ryou questioned.

"I mean, well…do you need anything?" the Dracula asked, his sight landing on the floor.

Ryou thought for a moment. "Can I go back to my safe, warm, apartment?"

"No. That isn't allowed," Bakura growled, making Ryou loose some of his confidence he had just built up. "I just, I don't want to…never mind."

"What do you mean?" Ryou was becoming curious now. Something was up as to why he was here.

"I said never mind." Bakura glared at him. "Damn."

Ryou decided then and there to keep his mouth shut. There wasn't much he wanted to ask, except for the reason of him being here.

Ryou watched the demon in front of him. Bakura was looking around, trying to find something to do, and unfortunately, Ryou could hear Bakura's stomach rumble. He now wished he wasn't paying so much attention to the vampire.

Without warning, Ryou was shoved out of the chair, and something pierced his already punctured neck. Fangs. Crying out, Ryou soon found darkness.

* * *

A/N: Poor Ryou. Something's up, otherwise Bakura and Atemu wouldn't be acting the way they are, no? Well, here's chapter seven, and I hope you enjoyed. Please read and review!


	8. Doppelgangers

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Atemu pounded his fist on the door. "Jono, you home?"

There was a low growl from deep within the small living quarters, but nonetheless, the door screeched open. "What?"

Yugi couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him was his best friend, just in a werewolf form. He had the same chocolate brown eyes, and the same messy blonde hair, except the hair was all over his body. "Jounouchi?" he blurted out in disbelief.

The werewolf was taken aback at the sudden outburst. "Jounouchi? No, my name's Jono," the werewolf corrected, showing his two-inch canines, and his blonde tail wagging back and forth.

Atemu bent down to Yugi's size, and introduced the two. "Yugi, this is Jono," Atemu then looked at the werewolf. "And Jono, this is Yugi. Sorry about the incorrect name; I have no clue were he got it from."

"No problem Atemu," Jono said, ushering the two in. Once the two were sat down, Jono sat down across from them. "So…what are you here for?" he asked curiously.

"As usual, I'm bored," Atemu, replied.

Jono turned his attention to Yugi. "So you're a hobbit, right?" he asked, eying the boy up and down.

Yugi's blood boiled. "No, I'm a human," he stated firmly, not sure if he should have revealed that bit of information.

Jono's eye twitched. "No need to get defensive man, it's just you look like one."

Yugi just huffed, and crossed his arms over his chest.

'_He looks so cute…no! I can't think that, I promised myself I wouldn't!'_ Atemu thought when he quickly looked at Yugi's pouting face.

"So Atemu, what's with the human? You usually don't bring one here; not that you are allowed to anyway…" Jono interrupted Atemu's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh yes, I know, it's just…" Atemu trailed off. He wasn't allowed to tell last he knew.

"You got yourself into another bet with Marik and Bakura, right?" Jono asked, his voice seeming bored with the tone he was using.

"What?" Atemu asked, stunned that Jono had figured it out. "How do you know about that?" he spat.

Jono smiled. "I know a guy…"

Atemu's eye twitched. Last he knew, nobody was allowed to find out. So leaping out of his seat, he roughly grabbed Jono's torn shirt, and hauled the werewolf up, and growled through gritted teeth, "Who told you?"

Jono's eyes narrowed. "It's been going around town that there's a human around, that's all that I know," Jono started, "it's not like they know it's you guys who has them."

Atemu's eyes widened in shock. Now that the town knew that a human was around, Yugi would be taken away much more easily…but what did he care? He only agreed to the bet so that he'd win the bet he and his friends made up. "Is that why the town has been acting up so suddenly?" he asked, baring his white fangs again.

"I guess…" the werewolf dragged out, his gaze going down.

Atemu snorted, letting go of Jono's shirt. "Promise you won't tell anyone?" he snarled.

Jono let out a yawn. "Yep. You can even kill me if I do," he replied.

Atemu's eyes narrowed at the werewolf's lay back answer, but accepted it. Jono was one of those creatures you can trust your life with.

"Is he the only human here?" Jono suddenly asked.

Yugi's eyes widened at the question. Ryou had said that he had an encounter with many creatures the same night he had. Was he here too?

"Most likely," Atemu answered bluntly.

Jono scratched the back of his ear, making dirt fly. "Dang bugs…"

Yugi felt his stomach churn, and noticed the vampire go a little green. "We'll be taking our leave now. See you around Jono," Atemu announced as he roughly grabbed Yugi's arm and hauled him out of the home.

As the vampire and human made their way out of the small home, a tall figure that was see through and stiff, passed them, going towards the home. "Seto," Atemu acknowledged, tipping his head forward a little.

The ghostly figure nodded, but kept going. Soon, he was out of sight. Then there was a sound of Jono squealing or something.

Yugi's head spun. 'Seto'? He knew that name somewhere…aha! Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corporations. Wait…was this Seto Kaiba the same one he had always known about?

"Is he…?" Yugi asked, not able to get the whole question out.

"Seto is a doppelganger," Atemu said stiffly, hoping that that was what Yugi wanted to know. **(1)**

Yugi thought for a second, not familiar with the term 'doppelganger', but immediately pushed it away. "Is his last name 'Kaiba' by any chance?" he asked suddenly.

Atemu stopped, then turned to meet Yugi's face. "No, most of us don't have what you humans call 'last names'. It's too complicated to remember everyone's second names," he stated. "Where do you keep getting all of these crazy thoughts?" he asked.

Yugi wanted for the vampire to start walking again, but it never happened. "I know someone named Seto Kaiba that looks exactly like that ah…guy back there," he started. "And I have a best friend named Jounouchi that looks just like Jono, excluding all of the hair," he finished.

Atemu raised an eyebrow. "That's strange," he stated, then began to walk forward again.

Yugi's feet started to hurt by the time they started to see the lights of the village again. Why a hobbit? Why didn't they wear shoes like normal people? Yugi wanted nothing more than to be in bed now. "What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his drooping eyes.

Atemu didn't have a watch, so he looked up at the moon. "I'd say that it's probably about four in the morning in your world, that is if you were there."

"What time is it here then?" Yugi asked, his voice becoming invaded with yawns.

"It's about six in the morning, although the sun never rises here," Atemu stated, looking at the tired human who was sitting on the wet grass now.

Atemu sighed. By the time they would reach his home, he'd be dragging the poor human. So in one swift move, he scoopedYugi up in his arms and started forward again.

Yugi didn't seem surprised at the action, and all but cuddled into the vampire's chest. Yugi's eyes opened a little, but not much. The vampire's chest wasn't warm before, so why now of all times? Yugi pondered the thought for a moment, but lost the thought as he found sleep.

* * *

Ryou rubbed his neck, and pulled back when he found dried blood on his fingers. Memories came back in slow motion from when he gained a little confidence, and then the vampire, Bakura had bit him again.

Feeling groggy, the teen pulled himself up, and almost fell back, but caught himself. Looking around, Ryou noticed that he was still in the dimly lit cave, and he was sitting on a pile of pillows. These weren't here before…

Ryou heard something creak, and his head snapped up, now seeing about three dozen bats hovering above his head. Those weren't here either…

Ryou felt odd. Was Bakura trying to scare him or something? But then, from before, why was he acting so nervous after acting so harsh when he first met him? Something was up, he could tell.

Pulling himself up to his feet, the teen almost fell back again from dizziness, but stayed on two feet. Looking to his left, then right, and lastly behind himself, Ryou breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see the white headed vampire.

Taking a deep breath, Ryou decided to run for it, not caring what Bakura had said he'd do to him. Usually, he wouldn't do this, but this was an exception. He didn't want to deal with a vicious, bad tempered vampire anymore.

He had made it through the mouth of the cave in one piece, but wasn't too sure he'd be able to make it back home. What if he ran into Bakura, or worse? He just kept running.

Ryou looked behind himself, just to make sure vicious dogs or something weren't following him. The next thing he knew was that he was on his back, and on the ground.

Rubbing his throbbing head, Ryou looked up, expecting to see Bakura or some other hideous monster. He laughed. It was only a tree.

Picking himself up from the wet ground, Ryou started to walk, but stopped when he saw one of his dearest friends. Hiding behind an overly large tree, Ryou watched his friend sink to the ground, rubbing his eyes. Then he noticed someone else beside him.

The man had his arms crossed, and he was looking up, and then he looked back at Yugi. He said something, but Ryou couldn't make out what it was. But what puzzled Ryou was that the man looked exactly like Yugi, except that he had large glowing crimson eyes, and had a stronger build. His hair seemed to be more exotic, and suddenly, he scooped up Yugi, and started to stalk off.

Ryou furrowed his eyebrows, and thought of an excellent plan. If Yugi was with this person, he must be able to be trusted easily. So, hiding within the thick forest, Ryou followed the two to a small home, deep within the woods.

The white headed teen heard the clicks of multiple locks when the man closed the door, probably signaling that he didn't like complete strangers. So Ryou thought of an plan to get to Yugi. The house had windows, so he could look for Yugi through those.

As quietly as he could, Ryou tiptoed over to the house/cave and peeked through the windows. Each one of them held nothing inside, except for some very odd pieces of furniture, but no best friend.

He could've sworn he heard a branch snap behind him, but kept searching around the small home, still finding nothing.

Ready to just find his way back to the portal he had exited from last time, the teen was roughly grabbed at the shoulders, and turned around, only to hear an amused, "What are you doing here?"

* * *

Bakura growled low in his throat as he heard the witches laugh again. It was ticking him off.

"Hurry up," he demanded in a dangerous voice.

One witch turned around and pointed a wart-infested finger at him. "Hush, we're almost done."

Bakura backed up slightly at the finger, and muttered something foul under his breath.

The witches were laughing a shrilly laugh now, and Bakura's eye was starting to twitch more often now. If those damn witches laughed one more time…

"Done!" one witch announced. "Now give us what we want," she snickered with an old sounding voice.

Bakura grumbled as he reached his hand into his coat pocket. Pulling out a silver necklace with a couple of unknown symbols all along it, he handed the item over, and the three witches squealed with delight.

Seriously debating whether their laughs or squeals were worse, Bakura noticed one of the witches holding out the potion he asked for. Taking the bottle with black liquid in it, he shoved it into his pocket and then walked out of the shop and headed back to his home.

Walking through the orange-lighted town, Bakura walked past a row of empty, broken down shops. He remembered when a whole bunch of humans had discovered his world about nine hundred years ago, and tried to bring the place down.

Unfortunately for the undead, most of the humans had figured out all of the creatures weaknesses, and defeated many of them. But by the time many of the humans had been killed, the ones that had survived retreated back to their own world, and then they all had their minds wiped of the event, now making most of them clueless to this world.

As the destroyed shops started to become less and less, Bakura brushed the memory off, not wanting to go further into it. It had made him what he was today, and quite honestly, he wished it hadn't. But he couldn't let anyone know that.

Seeing his cave just a couple yards away, Bakura sped up his pace and within a couple seconds, he entered the mouth of the cave, now looking for Ryou.

Before he had left to get what was needed, he had propped Ryou on top of a pile of pillows, hoping he'd stay asleep. He had also called a couple of bats by whistling, and also signaling that his cave was open for them to sleep in, making him hope that they'd scare the teen into staying in one place.

Reaching the mound of pillows, Bakura couldn't trace Ryou anywhere, and thought that he must be under them all. So pulling back most of the pillows so that they were lying alone on the ground, Bakura smashed his hand into the closest wall.

That human had the guts to run right out of here (again), even after all the threats he had heard.

Bakura pulled his fist back, and examined it, seeing that his knuckles were lightly bleeding, and bruising up. "The little bastard," he growled.

Putting a hand in his pocket, to make sure that the potion was still there, Bakura stormed out of the cave, searching for a scent, and finding one rather quickly.

* * *

Atemu dumped Yugi's body onto the bed, not even caring to put a blanket over him. Walking out of the room, and shutting the door behind him, Atemu slumped into a chair, thinking of what he should do next.

Putting his head into his hands, the vampire sighed, "This bet is harder than it sounds…"

Leaning back in the chair, Atemu decided that he should get some sleep, but felt his stomach clench with hunger.

Looking at the closed door where Yugi was sleeping, Atemu slowly got up and walked over to it, opening the wooden door quietly.

Walking over to the bedside Yugi was facing, Atemu knelt down, so that his and the human's faces were level. He seemed asleep, but something about him didn't. Maybe he was dreaming, but Atemu wasn't sure. He never watched things sleep.

Leaning over, deciding that Yugi would provide his meal this time, Atemu put his lips upon Yugi's and softly kissed them. He then trailed his kissed down to Yugi's defenseless neck, and kissed it lightly, before biting into the already marked area.

The blood ran smoothly across his tongue, and down his throat, sweet as ever. Atemu didn't want to stop, but he noticed Yugi's face paling with every sip he took. After another five seconds, Atemu drew back, wiping away the small amount of blood that was smeared on the small neck.

His stomach now satisfied, Atemu smirked, seeing that Yugi could provide him with a sweet meal anytime he wanted nowadays. Standing up, Atemu left the room, and was about halfway to his when he heard something outside the house, shuffling around.

Becoming curious, Atemu creaked open the front door, seeing what was creating the noise. Seeing something move around as a black figure, Atemu's eyes narrowed. Someone was trespassing here.

Slipping out of the doorway, Atemu hid in the shadows, hoping to get a closer look as to who it was.

Moving through the shadows that were provided by the trees, Atemu saw a figure with a long mane of hair, lurking around his home, searching for something it seemed. "Bakura…" Atemu growled, hoping that his friend wasn't out to steal anything of his again.

His ears perked up. Someone else was here besides Bakura, and Atemu peered out even more. Someone was coming up from behind Bakura, and holding its hands out, ready to grab at him.

Within a moment, Bakura was grabbed by the shoulders and roughly turned around, and then an amused sounding voice echoed, "What are you doing here?"

* * *

A/N: Ah, the dreaded cliffhanger. Sorry about that. Hope you liked the chapter, so please read and review!

(1): A doppelganger is someone's double, but I'm adding a twist to it. I'm making Seto half shape shifter, half doppelganger. This will be explained in a future chapter.


	9. A Simple Hug

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

"What are you doing here?" an amused voice echoed.

Atemu heard a stuttered answer, clearly not his vicious friend Bakura.

"I…I-I…ah…" Yes, definitely not Bakura, but who?

Atemu peered out of the trees, seeing whom it was who was holding the first trespasser. "Marik…?" Atemu asked himself. Why was he here? Didn't he have other things to tend to?

"Come with me pretty one, you look lost," Marik started. "You don't want to be here, creatures around here can get pretty vicious," he added.

Bakura's look-a-like stiffened as Marik put his arm around his slender waist. He tried to push away, but didn't get very far with that action. That's when someone else decided to join in.

Marik looked over his shoulder. "Hey Bakura!" he greeted. "What brings you here?" he asked.

From what Atemu could see, Bakura didn't seem too happy. Was this Bakura's victim that Marik had an arm around?

As Bakura walked up to Marik, his gaze seemed to become more deadly, but it was more aimed at his look-a-like. He stopped in front of Marik and then spat, "what are you doing with my prey?"

Marik's smile slumped down at the question, but he responded, "_your_ prey? Silly Bakura, I found him, so that makes him mine," he said, a smirk slowly creeping onto his face.

Bakura's eyes narrowed. "No, he's mine, he just ran away from me," he said heatedly, shooting a harsh glance at the white headed teen, who looked at the ground.

Marik's smirk only widened. He loved to tease Bakura. "Well, if he is in fact your victim, you should keep a better eye on him. You're very careless you know."

Bakura growled low in his throat. He didn't feel like joking around tonight. So with one swift move, he jerked Marik's hand of his look-a-like. He then grabbed the teen and pulled him close, almost sending him to the ground.

"Hey!" Marik shouted out, rage building up slowly.

"Like I said, he's mine," the white headed vampire started. "So keep your hands off!" he concluded.

Atemu watched as Bakura stated to stalk off, keeping a firm grip on his prey. He then studied Marik, knowing exactly what was to happen next. Marik always wanted his way, and since he found Bakura's 'prey' first, he was sure to fight for what he found.

Atemu observed Marik leap at his friend's side, and try to jerk away Bakura's hold on the teen. It worked at first, but it soon died down. Then came Marik's second tactic. He leaped again, but this time landing right in front of the other vampire. Bakura stopped, and tried to push Marik away, but Marik had already taken the teen from his hands. It was one of those abilities that vampires had.

Bakura wasn't in the mood to fight either, but instead, he made a deal. "Here, I have a potion, and he can drink it. It's a love potion, and after he drinks it, he'll decide whom he wishes to go with, got it?" he explained.

Marik nodded his head, accepting the challenge. He reluctantly let go of the teen, handing him to Bakura who took out the potion. "Wait, why do you have that potion-"

"None of your business. Don't worry, I'm not breaking any of the rules, so don't get angry with me all at once Marik," Bakura interrupted, taking the quark off the potion bottle.

Once the quark was off, Bakura griped the teen tighter, making sure that he wouldn't be able to escape this time. "Drink it, or else," he threatened. "You've already gotten me upset," he added.

The teen took the potion, and looked at it with disgust. Atemu silently chuckled at the teen, he was probably thinking it was poison or something that was going to kill him no matter what the vampire holding him had said.

The teen was just staring at it for a while, until he probably heard Bakura growl. He then engulfed the black liquid, making a face that made the potion seem sour.

He dropped the glass bottle, and Bakura pushed him towards Marik, but not close enough so that Marik could just grab him and run. He just stood there now, looking back and forth between the two.

* * *

Ryou didn't like the taste of the potion. It was sour and tasted of something from a dumpster. He unconsciously let the bottle he was holding in his right hand fall haphazardly to the wet ground and he then felt himself being pushed forward. He felt groggy for a second.

He then felt himself looking back and forth between a blonde and the vampire he knew to be Bakura. What was he supposed to do now?

Ryou felt a warm sensation bubble up in the pit of his stomach whenever he had his attention on Bakura, but it crawled away when he looked at the blonde. Then he looked at Bakura again, the warm feeling coming back rather fast.

He didn't know what he was doing, but he walked hastily over to the white headed vampire, his hormones raging like never before. What was happening?

He felt his arms wrap around a stiff figure, his head nuzzling into the vampire's chest, seeking warmth. "I love you…" he mumbled into the chest.

Bakura wrapped his arms around the teen awkwardly, never receiving a hug in his life like this before. It felt strange, but he was happy that Ryou had chosen him over Marik. The potion worked. Ryou loved him.

He smirked at his friend, who sent him a glare of jealousy. "Like I said, keep your hands off him," he stated, then stalked off, Ryou holding onto him with each step.

* * *

Atemu smiled as he walked out from behind the tree. He had never seen Bakura and Marik act that way towards each other before. It was strange.

"Loose another battle Marik?" he asked, amusement in his voice.

"You were watching I assume?" the blonde vampire spat, not even looking at Atemu.

Atemu nodded. "I heard someone trespassing, and at first I thought it was Bakura, but then you came," he explained. "What were you doing here anyway?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Marik then turned around. "I followed the human's scent, and ended up here. And since I haven't found a victim yet…well, you know."

Atemu smirked. "The moon's falling, you better go get some rest. It doesn't look like you've slept in days…or eaten," Atemu stated, looking Marik up and down. "Is something wrong?"

Marik looked at the ground. "I ah, was thrown out of my apartment, and I haven't been able to pass through the portal to get anything to eat…or a human for that matter," he replied.

"Any reason why they won't let you go through the portal?" Atemu asked, confused.

Marik smiled. "Yeah, that human sighting has everyone jumpy, and they don't want humans finding the portal or anything, because, you know."

Atemu nodded. "I remember."

Both were quiet for some time before Marik said that he was going to be on his way, hopefully finding food. Once he was out of sight, Atemu walked back into the house/cave, and pretty much collapsed onto his bed, falling into a fitful sleep…

Atemu was jerked awake by another dream from his past. He shivered, running a hand on his neck finding the mark; it was still there. He walked out of his room and looked out one of the small windows, seeing that the moon was starting to rise. "I wonder if Yugi's awake," he asked himself.

Opening the door to where he left Yugi, he found the small teen wide awake, and sitting on the edge of the bed. Yugi looked up at him, wondering who was coming in, not that he knew anyway…

"Hey," Atemu greeted.

Yugi gave him a small smile, but it faded away quickly. "Why am I here? I miss it back home," he said unexpectedly.

Atemu hadn't felt it before, but now, he felt guilty for creating the boy's loneliness. "I still can't tell you that, or at least not yet…" he stated smoothly. Maybe now was the time to try to get Yugi to like him.

"Yes, but I miss my grandpa and friends…" Yugi drawled out, his eyes started to fill with tears.

The vampire noticed this, and self-consciously hugged the upset boy. Yugi tensed at first, but let it slide for now. The vampire was giving him comfort when he was upset. But it still was a mystery to Yugi. The vampire had made him feel this way in the first place…

It seemed that Yugi didn't know what to do, but snuggled into Atemu's chest, making him somewhat back up in surprise. Was it this easy to gain the trust of a human? A simple hug was all it took?

"I'm sorry I took you away from all of that, but I promise as long as you're in my realm, I won't let anything happen to you, no matter what," Atemu promised into Yugi's hair, feeling slightly awkward. Was he really taking an interest in this boy?

As if to answer his own question, the vampire hugged back even harder, taking in the scent of Yugi's hair. It smelled like cinnamon; in fact, Yugi smelled just like cinnamon. Why hadn't he noticed before?

Atemu took in Yugi's scent a little longer before he pulled back, gazing into Yugi's amethyst eyes. He hadn't noticed that they were so beautiful before either…

The thought escaping his mind as Yugi turned his head away, Atemu then asked, "how long have you been awake?"

Yugi looked back up at him again, then put a hand around his stomach. "About ten to twenty minutes I guess…do you have anything to eat?" he asked, his stomach clenching painfully with hunger.

Atemu nodded. "I don't really eat much, just drink blood…" he started, earning Yugi to give him a frightened face, then he reassured, "but I can go into town and get you something if you'd like," he offered. He was gaining Yugi's trust all right. He was definitely going to win the bet now.

"What do people usually sell for food?" Yugi asked, thoughts of strange and exotic foods filling up in his mind.

Atemu thought for a minute, trying to remember what he usually saw around the town that was food. "Do you like brains, or intestines of things? Or maybe eye balls or…" he went down the list, making Yugi fully disgusted as to what some creatures would actually eat.

"Um…don't you have any normal foods? You know, like fruits, or vegetables?" Yugi asked, stopping the vampire as he proceeded down the list of what creatures thought were appetizing foods.

The vampire closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Witches sometimes make potions that taste good like what you just said. And I'm pretty sure that they'd be edible," he responded. "Would that be okay?" he asked.

Yugi just nodded. "It seems like the best thing I'd be willing to eat," he stated, holding his stomach as it lurched again.

Atemu looked down at Yugi's slightly pained face, realizing that the poor human hadn't eaten for almost two or three days straight. "I'll be back, don't leave the house, or there will be dire consequences," Atemu said seriously.

Yugi nodded as he watched the vampire walk out of the room and then the house altogether. Walking out of the bedroom, Yugi wandered through the tiny home, looking at various things, his stomach tightening every now and then.

Finding nothing of interest, Yugi walked over to the bookcase, and started to go through the books, hoping that he'd find something interesting to read until Atemu came back.

He went through the books, finding nothing until he came to a book that didn't have a title. He carefully slid the book out, finding it to be more of a folder full of papyrus, ancient writing all over. Yugi could easily recognize the writing to be Egyptian hieroglyphics, but he just couldn't read them.

Wondering why Atemu would have such a thing in a bookcase, Yugi thought of why exactly he'd have it. Was Atemu a human before? Was he an Egyptian?

His thoughts were interrupted as a knock on the door echoed through the room. Yugi practically shoved the folder full of papyrus back into the bookcase, and then edged over to the door, not sure if he should answer it. He looked though one of the windows beside the door, and was relieved when he saw Jono, and beside him Seto.

Opening the door, he heard Jono slightly yelp at something, and then he went quiet. "Ah…hi?" Yugi answered in a small voice.

"Yugi! Glad to see ya!" Jono greeted in a more than happy voice. "Atemu home?" he asked, looking over Yugi's shoulder.

"Ah, no he isn't. He went out to get something," Yugi answered back, a strange feeling going through his body when he looked up at Seto.

Jono must've noticed Yugi staring at his boyfriend, for he smiled. "Yugi, this is Seto, I don't think you've met him yet," Jono stated, putting a paw around Seto's shoulder.

"We've somewhat met, but only for a brief moment," Seto stated, staring down at Yugi with his azure eyes. Yugi only nodded.

Yugi just stood there for a moment, not sure of what to do next. Was he allowed to let them into the house? "You can come in if you want…I guess," he said in a small voice.

Jono smiled, his tail swishing back and forth. Yugi stepped aside, seeing that Jono was more than happy to comply. He and Seto stepped into the house, and Yugi closed the door, making sure that it was properly locked. "So…ah…is Seto a…" What was he supposed to say?

"I'm a doppelganger," Seto stated stiffly. "I'm a double of someone, but I'm not sure who," he added, making Yugi fully understand now.

Jono smiled. "And that's not all," he started. "He's also part shape shifter! Show him Seto," the werewolf urged on.

From what Yugi was observing, it didn't look like Seto wanted to give a demonstration. "You owe me pup," he heard Seto mutter into Jono's ear.

Before Yugi's own eyes, he saw a double of himself. Seto really was a shape shifter. But in the next second, his double was back to the shadowy Seto from before.

"That's neat," Yugi commented. "You know, I might know who your double is," he said, thinking of what Seto said before about not knowing who his double was.

Seto snorted. "What would convince me that you would know who my double is?" he asked skeptically.

Yugi swallowed, his stomach clenching from hunger again. "Because he lives in my world."

Seto didn't seem to buy it, but looked a Jono who gave him a small shrug. "I highly doubt it, unless you can tell me more about him," he said, turning to look back at Yugi.

Yugi bit his lip, trying to remember when he met Seto Kaiba last. "He had the same personality as you, and he looks just like you," he started. Then, "are you successful in any way?"

Seto nodded. "In some ways I am."

"The Seto in my world is very successful, in fact, he owns his own gaming company," Yugi said, seeing a small string of excitement go through Seto's eyes. "Do you believe me now?"

The doppelganger looked at him and that wave of excitement was gone. "I'd have to see it to believe it," he said, shifting on his feet.

Yugi smiled. "Aha! Seto Kaiba is just like that! Whenever one of my friends or I say something to him that sounds unbelievable, he is skeptical about it! He really is your double," Yugi exclaimed, excitement building up in his chest.

"Hn. I'd still would have to meet him to believe it," Seto retorted.

"Maybe if I…" Yugi then realized that what he was just about to say, may not be possible. "Never mind," he said, his bubble of excitement slowly bursting.

The room fell silent, almost too silent for Yugi to handle. Usually he'd like the silence, but with these two, it seemed weird not to say anything. Maybe it was because he knew two people that were exactly like these guys.

Jono scratched the back of his ear with his paw, making Yugi back up. Then he heard Seto mutter, "not here you stupid mutt, this isn't your home you know."

After Jono stopped, he said, "well, we were kinda hoping to see Atemu, but we're kind of on a schedule today, can you tell him we stopped by?"

Yugi nodded, unlocking the door so that the werewolf and doppelganger could leave. "See you," he breathed. He then closed the door, and locked it again, now awaiting Atemu to come back with something for him to eat.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delayed update! I was hoping to get it up sooner, but I've just been so busy. Oh, before I forget, last chapter I explained what a doppelganger was, and by mistake, I only got half of it down, so you might want to look back if you're confused. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!


	10. Memories

A/N: Thank you for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

The vampire paid for the green potion, and turned on his heel. Atemu sighed. Hopefully Yugi hadn't starved to death already.

Walking through the small, monster-infested town, Atemu looked around, seeing a lot more officials than usual. Was it still the human sighting thing? Or was it something new?

The young vampire shook the thought away, and proceeded forward again. Walking on the all too familiar path for about another fifteen minutes more, Atemu soon saw his home, where Yugi was hungrily awaiting.

Opening the wooden door, Atemu only slammed it when he stepped inside. He looked around, guessing that Yugi wouldn't have gone back to bed with an empty stomach. Within time, he soon found the small boy on the ground holding his stomach.

"Don't tell me you're going to pass out now," the vampire teased with a smirk.

Yugi looked up, showing his now dull amethyst eyes. "I might as well pass out! I've been waiting for hours!"

Atemu smirked. "I was only gone for thirty minutes."

Yugi seemed surprised to Atemu. Almost embarrassed even. Yugi looked down, hiding a faint blush, and silence creeped up. Shifting on his feet, the vampire pulled out the potion, and aimed it toward Yugi.

"Here's something for you to eat," he mumbled, somewhat at a loss for smooth words.

Yugi looked up again, and hesitantly took the potion, and looked at it with disgust. "You sure this is edible?" he questioned, sending a small glare at the Dracula.

"I'm not that evil," Atemu replied. "Just drink it, trust me."

Yugi gave the vampire another glance before he popped the quark off of the bottle, and slowly gulped the liquid down. Once he finished, he observed out loud. "It tastes like…peaches, mixed with oranges. I guess it's okay…it satisfied me…why are you laughing?" Yugi asked, placing the bottle next to him on the floor.

Atemu couldn't help it. He couldn't say that it was cute; it would ruin his reputation. So he just laughed. "You have a huge slob on your upper lip," he breathed out.

The teen placed two fingers to his upper lip, seeing if what the vampire said was actually true. And just as Atemu had stated, his two fingers came back covered with green slob. "And this is so funny because…?"

Atemu's chuckling face from before had returned to its normal feature. "You humans are so messy," he expounded.

Yugi was confused. That was really out of the ordinary. Pushing the thought away, he asked, "do you at least have a cloth or something I can wipe this goop away with?"

Atemu froze at the question, a reason even unknown to him. He could give Yugi a cloth, but he decided against it. This is how he made someone love him before, so it was bound to work now. Lowering himself to his knees, Atemu earned a strange look from Yugi. Nonetheless, he pressed on. Reaching on hand out, he softly grasped Yugi's small chin, and Yugi tried to pull back, but Atemu just griped harder, warning Yugi.

Yugi stopped struggling, and spoke, "what are you…" but the vampire already covered his mouth with his lips. His body went rigid, and his fingers alone started to slightly move up and down. He felt Atemu's tongue pass over his upper lip a couple times, but Yugi's brain couldn't register why.

Unconsciously, the teen's eyes closed, and his head bent back. This was his first kiss, and who knew it would be from a vampire? Wait, this wasn't right…was it? Yugi's mind became fuzzy for a moment, before he concentrated on how well the vampire was kissing him.

Atemu's mind was in full bliss. Yugi not only had the sweetest blood, but he also had the sweetest, and not to mention softest lips too. It was a kiss that he'd never forget.

Making sure that he had gotten all of the slime off of Yugi's upper lip, only then did Atemu feel Yugi start to struggle for air. Parting his lips from the teen's, Atemu didn't know what to say. He only prayed that his last minute plan had worked.

Yugi was the first to talk. "Thanks…for getting the potion off of my lip…" He was blushing madly.

Atemu didn't know if he was blushing or not at the teen's cuteness. It was kind of hard to tell. "I hope it helped," he replied, not sure of what to do next.

As Yugi's blush started to die down, Atemu stood up, taking the potion's empty bottle with him. "You don't have to sit on the floor, you know," he said, sending a hand out to the teen to take.

Yugi glanced down, but gladly took the hand, and pulled himself up with Atemu's help.

* * *

A kiss was placed onto the vampire's neck.

Then another.

"I love you so much Bakura…" the white headed teen said passionately, snuggling into the vampire's side.

The vampire smirked. "As do I, my little Ryou," he said back, putting a protective arm around the slender teen's waist.

As soon as they had left Marik with his thoughts, Bakura's mood had lightened. Maybe it was because he had a satisfying victory over his friend. Or maybe it was because the potion he had bought actually worked for once. Or perhaps it was because Ryou was kissing him all the way back home.

It was one of the three.

Bakura's smirk deepened even more when he felt Ryou's small lips lightly place themselves on his neck. Snaking one of his hands up Ryou's dirtied shirt, Bakura felt the teen shiver under his touch. He had no clue it was this easy to get a reaction out of Ryou.

It was probably the potion.

How long would the potion Ryou drank last though? Bakura didn't even bother asking, for too much was on his mind when he bought the thing. It'd probably last for a couple more days; or so Bakura hoped. He didn't want to see what would become of the boy when the potion wore off. Hopefully he would win the bet by then.

Another shiver came from Ryou. Bakura smirked. Were all humans this vulnerable?

The shivers, and occasional moans ceased after a while however. The poor teen was loosing energy, and quick. Turning his head to the side, Bakura slipped out of Ryou's light grasp, and noticed how the boy just fell onto the pile of pillows in a heap.

"He's out cold, wonder what he was doing before I found him," Bakura muttered to himself as he dimmed a few candles nearby, so that his newfound love could sleep easier.

Walking to the mouth of the cave, Bakura stood, a small breeze coming through, making his white hair sway slightly. There wasn't a full moon out tonight, he observed silently. In fact, there hardly was a moon at all.

Shifting on his feet, the vampire put his hands into his pocket, and his stomach rumbled. Looking back at the sleeping Ryou, Bakura decided against the thought that ventured into his mind.

Bakura thought about it again, feeling slightly strange. A feeling he had not to drink the boy's blood was unknown to him; he couldn't place it. He had never felt this way before, not in the three thousand years he has been walking the Earth.

"Forget it," he mumbled to himself, hoping the strange feeling would go away.

* * *

Yugi slipped into the chair uneasily. His blush was long gone, and for that, he was thankful. But now there was nothing for him to say. A nervous feeling was starting to bubble up inside his stomach.

"Atemu, are you by any chance from Egypt?" Yugi asked suddenly, as he looked at the bookcase behind him.

Atemu's eyes seemed to widen for a moment, like no one was supposed to know. "What gives you that idea?" he asked unsure.

Yugi's eyes drifted back to the bookcase, and he stuttered, "I…um…"

"You were looking at the papyrus, weren't you?" Atemu stated.

Yugi couldn't think of a comeback at the moment, so he just nodded his head, feeling that he wasn't supposed to know something.

Atemu's eyes softened, seeing the guilty, and slightly scared expression on Yugi's face. Taking a deep breath, he started, "well if you must know, I did come from Egypt."

Yugi's head seemed to snap up, like he just heard some piece of valuable information. "Then…then how did you become a vampire?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't pressing too much into the vampire's personal life.

Atemu stared at the floor for a minute or two before deciding he might as well tell Yugi the whole story. Walking over to the chair next to Yugi, he sat down. Looking at Yugi, he started, "I might as well tell you everything," he sighed, like he didn't want to tell.

"As I said, I came from Egypt. I was the son of Pharaoh Akunumkanon, and when I turned seventeen, he died, and I had to take over rather quickly," he stated, looking at Yugi, who seemed surprised. "So one day, my country decided to make a peace treaty with the Romans, for when my father passed away, he had left many conflicts for me to deal with, and we decided that I would come to them to officially sign the treaty.

"So a couple of my priests and I traveled for a couple weeks on horseback, and most of our travels were through thick woods. But what we didn't know, was that there lay many dangers, some of which we've never heard of," Atemu added.

"And…?" Yugi was becoming interested, and Atemu smirked.

"And, one night, we made camp, and I was taking the first shift. So while my priests Mahado, and Shada were sleeping, an intruder ambushed me," Atemu stated. "I didn't know what hit me at first, because I was on the ground defenseless, and he was on top of me. But he swiped away my sword, and…well, turned me into what I am today," Atemu concluded, a sad note in his voice.

Yugi observed Atemu's downcast look, and bit his lip. It seemed like the vampire didn't wish to tell him the details, but Yugi wouldn't press. "Then does that mean you have a…?"

Atemu looked up at him, and a light smile formed. Pulling the collar of his black leather shirt down a little, Atemu let Yugi see his mark. "I don't usually let people see it, so this you should consider a privilege," he stated.

Yugi nodded, fully understanding. "Do you know who bit you?" he asked, wanting to know.

Atemu shook his head. "I can't even remember what he looked like, so don't expect me to know his name," he stated, not wanting to continue the conversation any longer.

Yugi knew Atemu's tone, and decided to drop the subject. "Jono and Seto came by when you were out," he said, remembering he was supposed to tell Atemu.

"For what?" the vampire asked curiously.

The amethyst-eyed teen scratched the back of his head. "They didn't say, but Jono said that they wanted to see you," he replied.

Atemu snorted. "They probably just wanted to tell me something that I already know."

Silence enveloped the room, for there was nothing more to say. Yugi yawned.

"Are you tired?" Atemu asked, feeling like he was talking to a three-year-old child.

Yugi nodded. "I think that it was that potion I drank…what if it's actually a sleeping potion?" he asked, a little bit of worry lacing his voice.

Atemu smirked at Yugi's imagination. "Trust me, it's not," he retorted as he scooped Yugi up, who gasped a little. "What are you-" But Atemu only placed a finger over his lips.

Atemu carried Yugi into the somewhat guest room, and this time gently placed Yugi on the bed. "Go to sleep," he whispered into the boy's ear.

Yugi's large eyes closed halfway, and he was just about to drift off when he whispered, "Why am I here again?"

Atemu was getting irritated at the question. "I still can't tell you that love," he whispered back, walking out of the room, and closing the door behind him.

The next thing on Atemu's mind was to think over the memory he explained to Yugi. Plopping himself into a chair, Atemu remembered it like it was only yesterday…

"_Should we stop here Pharaoh?" Mahado asked, griping the reins tighter as he guided his horse to the left. _

_Atemu looked to the right, as he and his priests came to a decent clearing in the thick woods. "Hm? Oh yes, lets. Ra will be setting soon," he replied, also guiding his horse to the left. _

_The three men got down from their horses, and unloaded most of their things. They soon had a small fire going, and food was cooking slowly. _

"_How many more days until we reach this city, 'Rome'?" Shada questioned, as he gave his horse some food and water. _

_Atemu thought for a moment before answering, "about three to five more days of travel."_

_Soon darkness came, and the night's creatures awakened. The Pharaoh decided that he'd take the first watch, no matter what his two priests said. _

_With a sword in one hand, and his shadow powers built up to its maximum, Atemu stood watch for about four to five hours, nothing unusual happening around him. Or so he thought. _

_Deep within the darkened woods, a figure watched the young pharaoh summon small amounts of unknown energy every now and then, most likely out of boredom. "Looks like my next meal," the figure whispered to itself. _

_Moving ever so quietly through the trees and atop the fallen leaves, the figure prepared itself to attack it s newfound prey. Once it was at the edge of the opening, the figure was fully charged to strike. _

_As the young pharaoh let the energy die away in his hand, he didn't know what to expect next. He was on the ground on his back. Something was atop his waist, and it was heavy. "Hm…look what I've found," the figure started, "a delicious pick indeed," it added. _

_Atemu didn't know what to do, for his sword had been slapped away, and his shadow magic had been drained away quickly, so he did what his gut told him to do. And that was to shout for Mahado and Shada, and try to get free. But unfortunately, as soon as he opened his mouth, a hand clamped over it. _

"_I don't think so," the figure said amused. _

_Atemu couldn't remember what exactly happened next, but all he felt was white-hot piercing pain in his neck. This thing atop of him was biting his neck for some unknown reason, and Atemu could tell that he was loosing blood pretty fast. Never in any stories he had ever heard of a human or creature sucking blood from the innocent. _

_His head was getting dizzy, and he couldn't keep up with the event that was taking place. Soon, however, the figure left, and the young pharaoh passed out…_

_Atemu woke up the next morning to see his two priests hovering over him. What had happened last night? And, why did he have a massive headache? _

"_What happened last night?" he asked, hoping that they would be able to provide him with an answer. _

_Shada was the first to speak. "I woke up to take the second shift last night, only to find you passed out," he started, "I woke up Mahado, and we both thought that you just fell asleep on the job, but then we noticed a stream of blood coming from that mark on your neck."_

_Atemu blinked at the explanation, and raised one of his hands to his neck, only to bring back dried blood smeared across his fingers. He wiped the blood on his kilt, and put his two fingers back up to his neck, only to feel two small holes on his neck. _

"_Who did this…?" he asked groggily, as he tried to sit up, but to no avail. _

_Mahado noticed his pharaoh's distress, and helped the king up into a sitting position. "We're not sure who did this, but whoever it was, was gone when we woke up. Nothing was taken though," he replied. _

_Atemu raised a hand to his head, hoping to ease the swelling pain. "We'll discuss this later, we need to get moving now," he said, trying to stand up, and eventually did. _

_The three gathered up their things, and sat upon their horses and started off again through the forest. About midday, the pharaoh and his two priests had gotten to an opening out of the forest. Atemu put a hand to his forehead, wishing that his headache would just go away. _

"_My Pharaoh, are you sure you're alright?" Shada asked, concern clear in his voice. _

_Atemu inwardly groaned at the pain. "Yes, Shada, I'm…" He couldn't finish his sentence, for he had fallen off of his horse. _

_KNOCK!_

Atemu jumped at the sudden noise, thus shaking him out of his thoughts of the past. He looked around, seeing if anyone was intruding, but found no one around.

_KNOCK!_

There it was again. Atemu got up from his seat, and went to the door, guessing that it was the cause of the noise. Opening the door, Atemu was surprised to see a couple creatures from town that normally conversed with. "Can I help you?"

The small crowed of officials looked at each other, most of them being either skeletons, and ghouls. "We heard that you are keeping a human," one of them stated, it's eyes narrowing.

"There is no human here," Atemu retorted firmly. What if they found Yugi?

"Well someone said that you do, now if you'd please move aside, we'd like to conduct a search," the creature said again, it's voice becoming annoyed.

Atemu bit his lip._ 'Don't show nervousness,'_ he told himself. _'It'd only make them more suspicious.'_

"Well, I have nothing to hide, you may come in," Atemu said, opening his door fully, stepping aside so that the officials could step inside his home.

The group of four walked inside, each one of them giving Atemu a glare. Atemu ignored them.

Atemu watched the group search his house, looking in every corner, and under each piece of furniture. They searched his room, (in which Atemu was planning on killing each on of them if they messed anything up), and lastly stood in front of the door that led to a sleeping Yugi.

"Why's this door closed Atemu?" one of them sneered. "Every other door is open," another one added.

Atemu had to think of something quick. "You don't want to go in there, my ah, friend and his mate are in there…trust me, you'll be scarred for life if you do."

Hopefully that'd convince them.

"But I smell a human's scent in there," one of the skeletons retorted.

Or not.

Atemu remained speechless, not sure of what to do. He didn't want them to take Yugi away. He was just starting to like the small teen. He'd loose the bet if they took Yugi away.

One of the ghouls smirked. "You said that you didn't have anything to hide, so…" he started to turn the knob.

Atemu bit his lip. He knew well enough that the punishment for a human nowadays was beyond harsh. It was more like torture. They'd take the human and put it into a cell for three nights, starving them until there was nothing left in its system. Then the next morning, it'd be hanged. Atemu had witnessed it many times. He just still couldn't believe that the punishment was still going on since the Middle Ages.

Atemu was jolted out of his thoughts for the second time in fifteen minutes, for the wooden door was being opened.

* * *

A/N: I decided since there wasn't a cliffhanger last chapter, this one would. Mwhahaha…anyway, I don't think I've ever updated this quickly. Hope you liked the chapter, 'cuz there was enough fluff, right? Please read and review!


	11. Fortuneteller

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Yugi stopped moving around when he heard other voices, all unfamiliar to him. Well, except Atemu's.

The teen pressed his ear up to the closed wooden door, and listened. He couldn't make out everything that they were talking about, but Yugi got the impression that whoever it was out there was looking for him.

Hearing footsteps coming closer to the door, Yugi backed away from the door, and tried to think of where he could hide. He couldn't hide under anything; there was no space for him, no matter how small he was. Unfortunately, there were no windows, so he couldn't get outside of the house either. Then Yugi spotted a shelf littered with potions.

Walking as quickly, and as quietly as he could over to the shelf, Yugi carefully picked through the bottles full of various colored potions.

"…Sleeping spell…flying spell…invisibility spell!" Yugi stated to himself as he moved a couple potions, trying to reach the ones near the back wall.

His eyes shining, Yugi took the potion that had the label, 'invisibility spell' and quickly screwed the quark off, and sipped it down, hoping that it would work.

Slipping the now empty bottle back into its place, Yugi suddenly froze when he heard the doorknob creak, and turn slowly. Backing up into the nearest wall, Yugi impatiently waited to see what was to happen.

* * *

Atemu bit his lip. Yugi was behind that door, and was probably fast asleep. These ghouls would then take him away, and be killed within time. He had no clue what the punishment for hiding a human was however.

The ghost opened the door, and peered inside, and within moments, fully opened the door, and the small group headed in. Atemu snuck in behind them.

"I don't see anything in here," one of the skeletons stated, looking under the bed.

"Yes, but I sure smell the scent of one," a ghoul replied, sending a glare in Atemu's direction.

The small group looked all around the room, all positive that there was in fact a human in the room. They were all about to give up on the search when one of them noticed a quark less bottle.

"You ah, been using an invisibility spell lately Atemu?" the head official asked, eyeing Atemu as he read the potion's label.

Atemu forced his eyes not to widen as the ghoul stated that a spell had been used recently. That's probably how Yugi slipped out of sight. "No, but my friend drank it last month as a joke. Nothing to worry about," he replied, trying to keep his eyes on the official.

The ghoul didn't seem to believe it. "Likewise," he stated, then, "close the door, I don't think that the human has gone out of the room yet. If it did, we would have heard the floor creak, like it did when we came through."

Atemu watched as the door was closed, and listened to when one of them instructed, "feel the walls, the human is probably pressed up to one."

If that was the case, Atemu had to find Yugi before any of them did. So when the officials weren't looking, Atemu slid across the wall, looking for Yugi's small form. Eventually, he found something.

"Yugi?" he whispered as quietly and as unnoticed as he could.

Within time, he felt something that felt like a hand on his chest. It was Yugi.

Smiling inwardly, Atemu mouthed 'sorry', and moved in front of the invisible Yugi, and pressed his back into the teen, hoping that he'd be able to fool the ghouls into thinking that he was casually leaning against the wall.

He heard Yugi softly squeak behind him, most likely surprised at his action. Atemu tried not to smirk. Putting his arms across his chest, the vampire leaned back a little more, until he thought that Yugi would stick to the wall. Then one of the officials came up to him.

"You sure you're not hiding a human in here?" he asked with venom in his voice.

"Positive," Atemu stated, sending a glare into the creature's eye.

The ghoul seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, before asking, "what was your last meal then?"

"A hobbit. As you know, a hobbit and human can have two very similar scents, that's probably why you think I'm hiding a human," Atemu explained, hoping it'd convince them.

"Very well, our search is concluded," a skeleton stated as he opened the door, and they all headed out. Atemu sighed once he heard the familiar slam of the front door, clearly signaling that they were out of his home.

Leaning back up, Atemu stepped back, hoping that Yugi wasn't in too much pain from the pressure. "You okay Yugi?" he asked, wishing that he could see the boy.

"Yeah I'm fine," came the reply from an invisible teen. "You didn't have to lean on me so hard though…" he added, making Atemu think that he was pouting.

"Why are you laughing?" Yugi asked.

"I can only imagine you pouting," Atemu chuckled.

Yugi's face grew hot with a blush, forgetting the fact that Atemu couldn't see him. How had he known he had been pouting? "I wasn't pouting," he countered.

"Sure," Atemu said with a smirk.

Yugi shifted on his feet, unsure of what to do next. "What were they here for anyway?" he asked, the previous subject popping into this mind.

Atemu bit his lip. "Someone told them that I was hiding a human, which, of course I was, but I couldn't let them know that, no matter what they expected," he explained.

Yugi smiled, yet again forgetting the fact that he was invisible. "So you…saved me?" he asked awkwardly. "What would've happened if they found me?"

"Um…yeah, I guess you can say that…"Atemu half mumbled, averting his gaze downward. "You really don't want to know what would happen to you if they found out you were here," he answered.

"Okay…?" Yugi replied, wondering what kind of bad thing could happen if he was found.

Both human and vampire were quiet, and awkwardness filled up the room. Yugi shifted on his feet again, and finally broke the silence by asking, "so how long am I to be invisible?"

Atemu's gaze shot upward to where he thought Yugi's face was, and answered back, "probably a couple hours. That spell never lasts as long as you think it does."

Atemu turned his head towards the small bed, and an idea formed. It was sure to get him victory later on. So slowly walking to the bedside, he slowly sat down on the crumpled comforter, and slid his legs up, and then lowered his upper half of his body down on the soft mattress. He then looked at where he thought Yugi was still standing.

"Join me?" he asked, hoping that his voice had a suggestive tone.

He heard the floor creak, now wondering if Yugi was coming his way, or was just leaving the room all together. He then felt the mattress sink a little.

"No…tricks?" Yugi suddenly asked over a large amount of time, uncertainty clear in his voice.

Atemu's eyes somewhat narrowed at Yugi's question. Yugi had quite the imagination. "No tricks," he reassured, patting the space in front of him. "I promise," he added.

Wishing that he could see the small teen in front of him, Atemu felt Yugi's weight fall onto the bed, and quite a couple times, Atemu felt Yugi elbow him, trying to get comfortable. "Am I hurting you?" Yugi asked, finally realizing that he was elbowing the vampire every other time he shifted.

"No," Atemu breathed, taking in Yugi's delicious scent. As soon as Yugi was lying down, his back to Atemu's chest, Atemu slyly scooted up until his chest was pressed up against the latter's back. Atemu smirked when he heard Yugi's breath hitch a tad.

"I'm not going to break my promise, so don't worry," Atemu stated, surprisingly finding Yugi's invisible ear. He felt Yugi shudder. Oh how that felt good.

As Yugi relaxed, Atemu snaked a hand around his waist, and pulled Yugi closer, loving every second of Yugi's resistance. Atemu kissed the teen's neck, yet again successfully guessing the right spot.

Both were quiet, and to both human and vampire's pleasure, awkwardness decided to leave them alone this time. Snuggling into the warming bed, Yugi let his eyes slip shut as he felt Atemu's arm curl around his waist even more. "Thank you," he muttered quietly before he fell into sleep's clutches.

"I love you too," Atemu mumbled into the invisible teen's hair, as he slowly fell into a world of darkness.

* * *

Marik shoved his freezing hands into his coat's pockets. He blew out his air in a thin stream through his lips, seeing his warm breath freeze in the night air. "Damn."

Now that he knew, both Bakura and Atemu had found their victims, and everything was going pretty damn well for the both of them. Not to mention that he lost to Bakura only two hours ago.

Blowing out another puff of smoke, Marik proceeded on down the unfamiliar trail. He really didn't know where he was heading, (not that most did), but he really didn't feel like going back to the small town. He only wanted Malik.

Malik; his last lover. Marik had many throughout his time, but Malik had been his number one favorite. Malik was also a vampire, but only just a few hundred years old after being transformed. Seeing that the poor boy was left alone, with nothing but the clothes on his back, and very vulnerable. Marik swooped Malik into his arms.

Throughout the years, Marik had taught the young vampire how to hunt, and how to stay hidden. But what really grew was their love for one another. It was the strongest Marik had even experienced. But then a tragic day happened that broke Marik's heart.

Malik had gone off to some odd village in the human's world, and must've been found, for when Marik found him the next night, a wooden stake was plunged into his chest, right where his heart was. Marik had lost a lot that night.

So why had he made up and agreed with his two companions to such a bet? It was probably so that they could suffer the same fate he could. He didn't mean to make such a horrible bet, but he couldn't control what he had thought of that night. Bakura and Atemu's lives were so much better than his he just couldn't help it.

Looking up from the dirt trail when he passed an ogre and a couple doppelgangers that he faintly recognized, Marik looked ahead at the unknown town. He soon passed a poorly made sign with the town's name, 'Trull'.

"Trull?" Marik asked himself, raising an eyebrow. "Sounds like it'd be a village full of trolls," he chucked.

Seeing the dim lights about a mile ahead, the vampire walked forward, interested to see what kind of village Trull had to offer. Maybe there'd be an open portal to the human world.

Once he reached the small village, Marik was surprised to see that it was just like the old one he knew quite well. But one thing was certain; he sure guessed right about the trolls. Although, there still were many other creatures he knew as well.

Walking through the narrow streets, Marik's eye caught a witches shop. He decided that he should check it out.

Pulling back a thin piece of cloth, Marik was met with a rather young fortuneteller. She wasn't like the other fortunetellers he sadly knew at all. She had black hair that went down to the middle of her back, and she was dressed in a rather revealing outfit. "What kind of service could I provide you today, sir?" she hissed the last word.

Marik cringed at the last word that came out sounding crooked. "Have anything good? No-scratch that, do you tell actual, truthful fortunes?" he asked, leaning his palms down on the small, fragile table.

The girl smiled at him, showing him her decaying black teeth. "Why yes, but I charge a pretty good price," she replied.

"How much?" Marik asked, his hope slipping, realizing that he had no money.

The girl's eyes gleamed. "For you, no money," she started. "You only pay me with a kiss," she concluded, watching Marik's face carefully.

Marik raised his eyebrows and chuckled at the girl's request. "Fine, just tell me everything I want to know," he said slyly.

The fortuneteller smiled at him again, showing her black teeth again. "Very well, what do you wish to know?"

Marik took his seat across from the girl, and folded his hands on the table. "Am I ever to find a human?" he asked. "To love, I mean?" he added.

The girl closed her eyes, and muttered something under her breath. "For the bet you and your two friend made up, right?" she asked, peeking one eye open, to see what he was going to say.

"Yes," Marik breathed.

The girl smiled at Marik's shallow sounding answer, and closed her eye again. "From what I can see, you won't find a human," she started. Marik's face dived downward. "But, you will do something that you wish not to do," she added.

Marik glared at the fortuneteller. "What?" he snapped. "What am I to do?"

The black-toothed girl opened both her eyes, and countered back, "You're going to cheat, hoping that what you do will allow you to win the bet, and to get your pathetic life back."

The vampire's rage suddenly boiled. "I wouldn't do that. I don't cheat," he spat back, thinking that the girl was lying.

The girl smirked at Marik, making him shudder slightly. "It's what you will do, it's destiny," she warned, standing up. Then in a sweeter voice, she asked, "Is that all?"

Marik glared at the fortuneteller, and finally mumbled, "Yes, it is."

The black-haired girl slowly stood up, trying to put a sway into her hips when she walked over to where Marik had stood up. "About my pay…" she breathed, literally leaning on the blonde-haired vampire who was suddenly pushed up against the wall.

Marik inwardly smirked. "Alright then…" he trailed off, slowly lowering his head to the girl's lips. Within seconds, he heard the girl scream bloody murder, and then she went limp, and crashed to the floor in a heap. Marik chuckled. "There's my pay also, you gave me a full stomach."

The vampire then turned on his heel, and stalked out of the now hated building, muttering, "damn destiny."

* * *

The ghouls nudged open the vampire's door. There definitely was a human here.

"Don't make a sound, or you'll deeply regret it," a skeleton warned, turning around to see the four other officials closely behind him nod.

Nodding himself, the skeleton swiftly made his way into the darkened home, and creeped through the first room, hating it when some of the floorboards creaked. Within a couple minutes of maneuvering through the dark room, the group of officials found the door to where they believed the vampire was hiding the human.

Carefully turning the rusted knob, the creature and his companions slipped inside of the room, taking a dim candle with them so that they could see.

"Look," a ghoul pointed out, "there's the human."

Looking at where the ghoul was pointing out, there was indeed a human sleeping peacefully under the protective arm of the vampire. How had the human slipped out under their noses, they still didn't have an answer for, but it didn't matter now, they had found the human. They would now get their reward.

Edging nearer and nearer to the bedside, the group of five all stayed as silent as they could. As four of them worked up a plan on how not to wake the human, the lone official took out a small bag full of dust.

Empting the small pouch, the powder falling onto his bony hand, the skeleton creeped forward and blew the powder onto the vampire's face, letting the vicious creature inhale the poison. "Okay, take the human," he instructed when he was sure the vampire had inhaled the powder completely.

Raising the vampire's left arm up from the human's waist, a ghoul slid his own ghostly arms around the boy and removed him from the bed, all the while making sure it didn't wake up. Then another official slid a package of cooking mix under the vampire's arm.

The group backed up hastily, hoping for their lives that the blood drinker wouldn't wake. As the last one was out of the room, he closed the door slowly, and turned to his friends who just smirked. They then maneuvered out of the small home, closing the front door behind them, hoping that everything wouldn't be suspected.

Once the group of ghouls and skeletons were about a half-mile from the vampire's home, they all stopped dead in their tracks, and dropped the human, not thinking through about what they had just done, for their minds were occupied with something else.

* * *

Yugi felt something wet and cold, and then his back hurt.

Opening his eyes, Yugi looked into fabric. He was blindfolded, his wrists tied behind his back. What was happening?

Yugi turned his head a couple of times, relying on his ears to do the work for him. He could make out that nothing was moving around, but he heard a couple of shaky breaths from all around him. "Back away!" someone to his right cried out.

"What do we have here?" suddenly a man asked. "A couple of officials trying to steal a vampire's prey?" The voice seemed taunting and it sounded like, _'Atemu!'_

"W-we found this h-human wandering ar-around in the woods," a skeleton answered shakily.

Although Yugi couldn't see Atemu clearly, he could tell that the vampire had raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Because I think that you all stole my next meal," Atemu said, venom in his voice. "You stole him from me without permission."

"N-no, that is untrue. We found him first," someone to the left of Yugi countered.

"I don't think so," Atemu stated, and Yugi could hear him approaching ever so slightly.

Yugi listened to the creatures surrounding him fall and gag within moments. Atemu had saved him. Yugi sighed, leaning back on his hand, which were still bound. "I missed you…" Atemu spoke softly, wrapping his arms around Yugi's torso.

"Thanks for saving me," Yugi purred back as Atemu stroked his hair.

Yugi felt warm again, being in Atemu's strong, warm embrace again. It felt welcoming.

"Lets go back, it's probably way too cold out here for you," Atemu said. "Your teeth are chattering," he added with a chuckle.

Yugi didn't realize the coldness yet until Atemu observed it out loud. Strange. He felt Atemu pick him up, and Yugi giggled. "I can walk you know," he said, wishing that he could see Atemu's face. "Can you take off this blindfold?" he asked.

"But you look so cute with it on," Atemu stated back, giving Yugi a peck on the cheek, making the teen blush madly.

Yugi smiled. Atemu was never this happy around him before, and Yugi had never heard Atemu use to the word 'cute' before. Yet another strange thing today. Maybe it was because Atemu finally got some rest…

Yugi leaned lovingly into Atemu's well-built chest, and moaned softly. Again, Yugi loved the warmth he was receiving, now that he realized that he was freezing to no end.

But sadly, Yugi suddenly became very cold again.

* * *

A/N: Here's chapter eleven. I'm really sorry Bakura and Ryou weren't in this chapter, but I promise they'll be in the next. Hoped everyone enjoyed! Please review!


	12. Beating Hearts

A/N: Thank you for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Ryou felt something hovering over his head. It was making an odd sound, and it sounded like…like…

The teen opened his eyes to see what it was. "Bat!" he cried out surprised to see the small, blackish-brown mammal flying around his head in circles.

Still in shock, Ryou squeaked, and scooted back into the nearest wall. The bat followed.

"Get back!" Ryou cried out, not very fond of the small flying creature that followed him into the wall.

The bat made a screeching noise, and Ryou covered his face and bit his lip as the bat's wings brushed against his face. Oh how he hated these kinds of animals.

Ryou was just about to cry out for help when he heard a chuckle at the entrance of the cave. "Don't be frightened little Ryou," he heard Bakura call out with a smirk on his face.

The teen felt the bat move away from his covered face to see the white-headed vampire in front of him with the bat on his shoulder, making him look like a crazed up pirate. "Did you do that?" he asked, seemingly out of breath.

Bakura's smirk only deepened. "It was the only way to wake you up," he said. "You were asleep for two days straight," he added.

Ryou looked at the floor, embarrassed for an unknown reason. "But why a bat? Couldn't have you done that yourself?" he countered back, looking at the vampire in the eye.

"I wanted to see what would happen," Bakura stated, watching as he bat flew away and out of the cave.

Ryou felt his face warm up. His reaction must've been pretty amusing then. _'How could I be so stupid?'_ Ryou scolded himself with this question.

Ryou closed his eyes for only a moment to open them again when he felt two arms wrap around his shoulders, and a chin rest on top of it all.

Ryou didn't even have to guess who it was, so he merely said, "go away…" thus pushing the vampire away from himself.

"Ryou…" Bakura tried, his eyes sharpening. _'The spell must have worn off already,' _he thought. _'At least he can't_ _remember a thing,'_ he added happily.

"Just leave me alone Bakura." Ryou heaved a sigh, and brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He didn't know why he was feeling so terrible, but at least the humiliating feeling was gone.

Bakura noticed Ryou's mood, and wondered why he would act this way. Then it hit him. All of the love that Ryou gave him was completely drained from the teen now. But thankfully it would return in a couple hours or so.

Bakura growled low in his throat, realizing what could happen now that the spell had worn off. Things would go back to the way they were before, and he wouldn't be able to win the bet. "Damn," he said aloud, making Ryou's ears peak in curiosity.

"What is it?" the smaller asked.

"Nothing that concerns you," Bakura snapped back, his good mood falling quickly.

Ryou bit his lip, considering dropping the subject, but something inside him decided to press on. "I think it does concern me," he stated, standing up slowly on wobbly legs. "Tell me."

Bakura only growled lower, in a more deadly way. "There's nothing to tell," he stated harshly.

Ryou thought for a moment, trying to come up with a way to make the vampire spill. "Then why am I here?" he asked, looking Bakura straight in the eye.

"I can't tell you that," the Dracula said, a faint teasing tone in his voice.

"Why not?" Ryou asked, becoming even more curious.

The vampire's eyes became sharp. "When did you become confident?" he spat.

The teen was unsure for a moment, and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Bakura chuckled. "No reason? I guess I really can't tell you," he stated, an amused tone now in his voice.

Ryou stared at the ground. He couldn't come up with anything other than, 'I just want to know'. He knew Bakura would want a better answer than that. "I'm curious," he finally stated, still staring at the ground.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "That's it? You're curious? Pathetic, I'm not answering your questions," he spat.

Ryou bit his lip. Maybe just one word would work. It usually works with other people he knows. Looking up from the ground, the teen sighed, glad that Bakura hadn't left yet.

"Please?"

Bakura just glared at him.

* * *

Yugi shivered at the coldness.

He knew that he was still in Atemu's arms, but they were moving at a rather quick pace. Why? He didn't know, for he was still blindfolded, along with his hands bound behind his back.

"Atemu?" he called out when he didn't feel a sudden rush or the coldness. "Where are we?"

Yugi felt himself being shifted in Atemu's arms, but the vampire did not speak. Atemu started moving again, and Yugi suddenly felt himself in someone else's arms.

"Atemu? What's going on?" Yugi questioned fearfully.

Atemu didn't answer Yugi's question, but instead spoke to whoever was holding him. "I found this human out in the woods just a couple hours ago," he started. "Thought it would be best to bring him here to be killed," Atemu concluded.

Yugi's ears perked at the word 'killed'. "What! Atemu, what are you talking about! Don't do this, please! I-" Yugi was unable to finish, for the ogre holding onto him easily knocked him out.

"Brat wouldn't shut up all the way here, thank you," Atemu thanked, taking the small pouch of coins from the oversized ogre.

The vampire watched as the ogre took the human to a cell, and locked him up. He then turned on his heel, and walked out of the cell room.

* * *

Atemu groaned as he pushed himself up from the bed, confused as to why there was a bag of cooking mix under his arm. Yugi probably put it there not to wake him earlier Atemu concluded shortly.

Rubbing at his eyes, Atemu's stomach growled hungrily, and he walked out of the room in search of Yugi.

Fully awake, the vampire's stomach growled again, and he called out, "Yugi?"

Atemu waited a couple of seconds for Yugi's reply, but only silence came. "Yugi?" Atemu tried again, this time a little louder. Yet again, nothing but silence came.

Atemu's stomach fluttered with hunger and worry. Where was Yugi?

The vampire then proceeded to search for the small human. Within time, nothing came up. Thinking of who could've taken Yugi, the answer finally hit him. "Damn officials," he growled low in his throat.

With rage, Atemu put on his coat and ran outside, slamming the door shut behind him. Running at a fast pace, Atemu ran not even a mile when he found the group of officials on the ground, all moaning in pain.

His blood racing through his veins, Atemu hauled up the head official, and snarled, "Where is the human?"

The skeleton shivered in fear, and stammered, "y-you took h-him away t-two n-nights ago Atemu, don't you r-remember?"

'_Two nights ago?'_

Atemu's eyes sharpened with fury. "No, I don't remember that," he spat. "Tell me where the human went then," he added.

The skeleton breathed heavily, shaking like he was freezing to death. "I j-just t-told y-you!" he cried. "Y-you took the h-human aw-away!" he breathed.

Atemu soon found the previous question pointless if the skeleton was going to keep telling him the same thing. "If that's the case, which way did I go?"

The skeleton looked left and right, like he was looking for someone. "I t-think you w-went th-that way," he stated shakily, pointing to the clearing to the left.

Satisfied, Atemu just dropped the official to the wet ground, not caring if he was injured more or not. He just had to find Yugi.

A couple miles later, Atemu came face to face with the village's dungeon. He sucked in his breath, not even noticing when his stomach viciously grumbled.

Hoping that Yugi wasn't in there, Atemu walked into the dungeon, soon stopped by an ugly looking ogre. "No one is allowed in," he stated in a gruff voice.

"Is there by any chance a human in here?" Atemu asked, hoping that the ogre would say no.

The ogre seemed to be thinking for a moment before answering, "there was, but it was hanged yesterday."

Atemu could swear that his heart stopped. Swallowing the gathered saliva in his mouth, Atemu spoke in a strained voice, "what did it look like?"

The ogre raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless answered the question. "Skinny thing, but it had straight black hair, and it was a pretty tall human."

Atemu sighed with relief. "Is there any other humans in there?" he asked.

The ogre was becoming annoyed with the questions. "Well you should know, you were the last one to bring in a human," the ogre explained. "You seemed really ticked at the thing."

The vampire bit his lip. "Can I see him? I ah, need to tell it something," Atemu asked hopefully.

The ogre's eyes became narrowed. "No. It's not allowed. Once you bring someone in, you can't see them until they're persecuted."

Atemu growled. Today just wasn't his day it seemed. With one swift movement, Atemu grabbed at the brute's neck, and pushed him up against the wall. "Let me in," he growled with a deadly tone.

"It's… not allowed…" the ogre struggled to say. "Ah!"

Atemu drank the ogre's blood, becoming satisfied with his ticket in, and a full stomach. When he felt the ogre drop slowly to the floor, Atemu extracted his hand from the creature's neck, and let him fully drop to the ground without a care.

Looking for some keys, Atemu found none, but still walked into the part of the dungeon where the cells were held. Once he reached them, the vampire started to search, every once and a while calling out the human's name.

Halfway down the hallway, Atemu finally found a human. "Yugi?" he called out.

Yugi was huddled into a corner, his knees brought up to his chest, with his arms held loosely around them, and his chin was perched on top of his knees. "Atemu?" he asked, his dazed eyes brightening.

Atemu sighed with relief. "Are you alright Yugi?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

Yugi stood up, and walked over to the cell bars. "Why did you put me in here?" he asked, making Atemu think that he was going to cry at any given moment.

"I didn't put you in here Yugi, some-"

"But I heard you! I heard your voice! You beat up the creatures that took me from you, and then you handed me over to some brute, and then I was put in here! You even called me a brat Atemu," Yugi explained, tears rimming the bottom of his eyes.

Atemu reached through the bars and caressed Yugi's cheek. "I don't know what happed Yugi, but some bastard imitated me," he explained. "I woke up today with a bag of whatever under my arm, someone hoping that I'd think it was you when I slept. Did you see me at all?" he asked.

Yugi leaned into Atemu's touch. "I was blindfolded, and my hands were tied behind my back," he explained.

Atemu smiled softly. "Someone probably drank a potion, and it made them look and sound exactly like me," he stated. "The officials told me along with the ogre out there that they saw me about two nights ago."

"Do you know who it was then?" Yugi suddenly asked, pushing Atemu's hand away slightly.

The Dracula sighed, pulling his hand back slowly. "No, I don't," he answered. "But whoever it is, he's going to wish that he's already dead."

Yugi smiled. "Thanks."

Atemu stared at Yugi for a moment, before realizing that Yugi was still in the dank cell. "Here, get away from the bars," he instructed. Yugi did as told, and Atemu took a hold of two iron bars in his grasp. Within seconds, the two bars were spread apart, letting Yugi easily slip through them.

"I didn't know you could do that," Yugi observed in amazement as he started to go through the bent bars.

Atemu smirked. "I've had that ability since I was transformed."

Yugi smiled as Atemu took his hand, and led him through the disturbing hallway. Looking down at their clasped hands, Yugi blushed. Why? Yugi couldn't answer why, but an idea came to his brain.

'_Love.' _

The teen let out a held breath, and took control over his fast beating heart. He smiled inwardly when he felt Atemu's grip tighten. But he frowned when it loosened, and the vampire fell to the floor unconscious.

* * *

Ryou didn't expect that Bakura of all people would give in at the word 'please'. It seemed unnatural, and like it shouldn't exist. "That's it?"

Bakura heaved a sigh. "Quit asking, I already told you," he spat, looking at the entrance of the cave.

"It seems kind of childish," Ryou stated quietly, thinking the whole explanation over in his head again.

Bakura growled. The kid was never going to shut up now. "I know it is, but it would win me a whole lot."

"Like what?"

Bakura bit his lip, swerved around, and grabbed the teen's collar with a threatening look in his eyes. "You're either very ignorant, or arrogant. I told you everything there is to tell, so quit it with the questions," he growled, making Ryou cringe at the vampire's horrendous breath. "If you don't, you'll deeply regret it," he added with a snarl.

Ryou's eyes seemed to have widened, like a deer's in the headlights. Bakura thought for a moment that he was about to cry, but the moment never came. "Alright," Ryou finally muttered.

After a couple seconds, the white-headed vampire let the teen's shirt slip out of his grasp. "I'll be right back," he mumbled, walking out of the dimly lit cave.

Ryou let out a sigh, and let himself fall back onto the cave's wall, making sure that he wasn't about to wake any of the sleeping bats above his head. When nothing stirred, the white-haired teen bit his lip. Again, he felt foolish for the way he acted. But then again, he had every right to act the way he did, he was curious.

Smiling to himself, Ryou slipped down to the floor and grabbed one of the nearby pillows and hugged it. About fifteen minutes passed, and Bakura hadn't returned.

Suddenly, one of the dying torches fell to the ground, knocking the rest of the flame out. "Who's t-there?" Ryou asked, his voice shaking.

Another torch fell, making the cave even darker. Then another, and another until the cave was completely darkened. Ryou stood up from the stone ground, and walked forward, something that he shouldn't have done.

Without warning, the poor teen was harshly pushed up against the wall, and an unknown mouth was over his. Ryou's eyes widened in surprise, and he tried his best to push the offending figure off of his chest, but to no avail.

As seconds rolled by, Ryou was starting to run out of breath. Suddenly the teen gasped and fell to the floor in a heap, the figure still standing before him.

The figure watched as the smaller teen before him slipped into a fitful sleep, hard brown eyes watching him the whole time.

* * *

A/N: Here's chapter twelve for all you wonderful readers! Hope you enjoyed, and please review!


	13. Imposters

A/N: Thanks for the wonderful reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Yugi slumped to his knees, repeating Atemu's name over and over. An idea struck him, and the teen took the vampire's wrist in his. His pulse was fine. Yugi then placed a hand over Atemu's chest, just to make sure that the vampire was still breathing, even though his pulse was still alive.

Atemu's breath was coming out in short pants, but nothing audible. "Atemu?" Yugi tried again, fear starting to build up in his small chest when he heard unfamiliar voices.

"Atemu, please wake up," Yugi nudged the vampire's side a little, but it seemed that nothing was going to wake his look-a-like.

Hearing the voices nearing even closer, Yugi looked behind his shoulder, and thankfully, his sight came in contact with a corner. So pulling himself up to his feet, Yugi gingerly took Atemu's hands in his, and dragged him across the stone floor as quietly as he could.

Once they were around the corner, Yugi peeked out to see the main door that they were supposed to go through was opened, and a large ogre came out, something slung over his shoulder.

Yugi couldn't make out what the thing was, but it looked suspiciously like a human. When the ogre kept on walking his way, Yugi scooted back into the shadows, hoping that he'd go unnoticed. Thankfully, when the brute did pass, Yugi wasn't seen.

Peering around the corner again, Yugi took a good look at the unconscious form over the ogre's shoulder. The person had what seemed to be a long mane of white hair, a pair of blue jeans, and a white tee shirt. Yugi immediately recognized the person to be the one and only Ryou.

'_What's he doing here?'_ Yugi wondered, trying to gather all of his jumbled up thoughts into one.

The spiky-haired teen turned his attention back to Atemu's conscious form. _'And what's wrong with Atemu?'_ he wondered, worry bubbling back up into his chest.

Too many things were happening at once, and Yugi was utterly confused. Something was definitely wrong with Atemu, but Yugi had no explanation for that. And second, Ryou was here, but could it be for the same reason Yugi was here?

Yugi thought for a couple minutes more, and he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the ogre from before right behind him.

"You're supposed to be in your cell you ungrateful-hey!" the ogre never got a chance to finish his sentence, because Yugi had dashed out like lightening.

Yugi didn't have much of a clue as to where he was heading, but he pressed on, a sort of guilty feeling of leaving Atemu behind. But Yugi knew that he wouldn't be able to drag the vampire with him.

Yugi gazed at the open door, and thought that he might actually have a chance, but fate didn't seem to be on his side today. The teen roughly felt himself being pulled up from his ankle by the ogre, and literally thrown to the ground, making him skid on his butt across the hallway's floor.

"Ow ow ow ow…" Yugi repeated through clenched teeth each time he came in contact with the floor. When he stopped skidding, Yugi looked up to see that the ogre was coming closer to him with each step he took. Pretty sure that his tailbone was either badly bruised or even broken, Yugi had no intention of getting up. It'd be way too painful.

The ogre stopped, and then in one ungraceful movement, grabbed Yugi up by the wrist and dragged him to an open cell, where Ryou was being held. Yugi was harshly put to the ground on his side, and he watched the ogre close the cell's door, and lock it securely.

Since Yugi could still see Atemu's unconscious form, Yugi wondered if the ogre had seen the vampire. So carefully dragging his aching body closer to the cell door, Yugi watched what would happen.

Yugi was pleading with all his might that Atemu wouldn't be found, but fate still didn't seem to like Yugi. The ogre slightly kneeled down, and pulled on Atemu's wrist, making him actually visible. Yugi didn't have the faintest clue as to what was going to happen now, but he bit his lip. Would Atemu be killed like he was supposed to be?

The ogre grumbled, not sounding the least bit pleased at the unmoving bloodsucker. Yugi hoped at least he'd put Atemu in the cell with him.

Yugi's hopes dropped as Atemu was roughly swung over the creature's shoulder, and then disappeared through the door. When Yugi heard the door slam shut, the teen turned his attention to his sleeping friend.

* * *

Marik chuckled as he walked away from the dungeons. The plan was going pretty well for him.

"Things should wrap up quite nicely," he told himself, laughing softly again.

Marik looked down at Bakura's pale fingers. How could Bakura live looking like this? It looked disgusting, and unnatural, even if he was supposed to look scary as a vampire. But that wasn't all, Bakura's hair was getting in the way a little too much. Had the guy ever heard of hair gel or bobby pins?

Marik looked down at a puddle to see Bakura's sickly pale face staring right back at him. Marik smirked, but it didn't feel right, when he was looking at his friend's face. "Two hours more," he reminded himself.

Marik still felt the vomit taste on his tongue from when he drank the potion that made him look and sound like anyone he wanted. It made Bakura's victim most likely believe that it was the white headed vampire, and it made Atemu's squirt think so too when he posed as Atemu about two days ago.

"Bakura and Atemu sure picked out two wimps as their victims," Marik said to himself, putting Bakura's pale hands into the long, black trench coat, making that something Marik actually liked for once.

The blonde vampire had thought about his decision for a while, before taking his plan to action. The words of the fortuneteller came to his mind, but Marik didn't think of this as cheating, but more along the lines of…bending the rules a little that any one of his comrades could apply to.

But then again, Marik was doing this to make Bakura's and Atemu's lives miserable, just like his. He remembered that sometime back they said that they'd all work together to keep each other alive. But sadly, that promise seemed to disappear a long time ago.

Sighing through his nose, Marik took one step after another, and soon found his throat being constricted.

"Where. Is. He?" came the original Bakura's voice.

Marik had his eyes shut tightly as he couldn't get any cold air into his lungs. "I don't know!" he lied, Bakura's voice bouncing off his tongue.

Marik opened his eyes to a rabid looking Bakura. His hair was more of a mess than usual, and his hard brown eyes almost seemed red and lethal. "How could you not know?" the vampire screamed. "What kind of person would drink something that allows them to look like my twin, and then steal-" Bakura extracted his hand from the imposter's neck, and instead grabbed at the collar of the trench coat.

Marik's eyebrow shot upward at his friend's sudden silence. "Then steal what?" he asked innocently, loving the fact that he could tease Bakura, and Bakura wouldn't even know it was his best friend.

* * *

Bakura growled at the innocent question. This person was clearly teasing him.

The real Bakura had stopped in mid-sentence because he realized that this guy could be anyone. He couldn't give this guy the chance to report him for having a human. There were too many consequences.

"Where'd you just come from?" Bakura snapped when he saw the imposter's lips curve at his lack of words.

The fake Bakura rolled his eyes, and Bakura wondered why this guy seemed so confident in teasing him. "The…no, I'm not telling you on second thought."

Bakura become even more enraged. This guy was acting arrogant, and Bakura hated most people that acted that way. So with his incredible strength, Bakura shoved the imposter into a dead tree, and when Bakura heard a satisfying moan of pain, he smirked, hoping that he'd get answers this time.

Pulling the imposter to his feet in one motion, Bakura growled through clenched teeth, "Where. Were. You. Last?"

The imposter shivered under the growled question, and moaned softly. "Not telling," he said firmly.

Bakura was becoming pissed. This guy had the nerve to look and sound like him? To tell him off? The guy had guts, Bakura had to give him that, but this guy seemed a little too cocky for his own good. "I'm guessing that you're not a vampire. Because if you think that you are because you look like me, you're wrong," Bakura spat.

The imposter seemed unfazed. "Spill, or I will kill you," Bakura warned, getting to the point quickly. His look-a-like didn't flinch or anything. "I'm not saying anything to you," he said in Bakura's voice.

"Fine, have it your way," Bakura huffed, making sure that he had a death grip on the imposter. Once he was sure that the creature was still enough, Bakura roughly pushed the imposter's head back into the tree, fully revealing the pale neck.

Putting much pressure on the creature's chest and head, Bakura revealed his white fangs, and lowered his head to the open neck. But there was a flaw in Bakura's plan.

Just about to pierce the defenseless neck, Bakura received an unexpected hard blow to the stomach, making the vampire be pushed back about fifteen feet, and a couple drops of blood dripping out of the corners of his mouth.

Bakura coughed for a moment, and then wiped the small portion of blood on his mouth off with the back of his hand. Looking about, Bakura didn't see a clone of himself anywhere, and colorfully cursed.

After a couple minutes, Bakura pulled himself to his feet, and couldn't pick any scent up as to where the imposter may have gone. So deciding on his instincts, the started walking the way he saw the imposter walking from.

* * *

Ryou blinked his eyes open, and saw large amethyst eyes looking straight into his soft brown ones. "Yugi?" he asked dumbfounded as to why his dearest friend was in this world with him. "What are you doing here?" he asked, pushing himself up from the wall. He observed his friend's position. "And why are you lying on the ground like that?"

Yugi's eyes seemed to be dazed for a moment before he spoke. "I was brought here, for reasons unknown," he answered. "And I don't think I should sit or stand for a while. Something horrible has happened with my tail bone," he added.

"Bummer," Ryou replied. "How'd you hurt your tailbone?" he asked.

"You don't want to know," the smaller answered.

Ryou frowned at the answer, but knew that he probably didn't want to know anyway. "Why are you in this world?" he asked curiously.

Yugi blinked a couple times, his eyes starting to hurt from looking up too much. "I was…kidnapped by a vampire about I don't know, a week ago?" he replied, hoping that it didn't seem too crazy. "You?"

Ryou laughed, unsure if he should tell Yugi or not. "I ah, was kidnapped by a vampire too. Weird, huh?" He watched as Yugi's eyes widened a little.

"Then what are you here for?" Yugi asked quickly. "The vampire that abducted me won't tell me a thing," he added, wishing that he could stand up as well instead of lying on the cold floor.

Ryou was beginning to become a little freaked out. "The vampire that I was kidnapped by wouldn't tell me a thing either, that is until I pushed him a little too much," he stated, a small smile forming on his lips. "He said that I was here for a bet, and well, it was between him and two of his friends," he added.

"And?" Yugi asked impatiently, wishing that Ryou wouldn't stall.

"And, he said that the bet was to find a human, and to make them, or me in this case fall in love with him. He didn't say what he'd get out of the bet though, but Bakura said that it get him somewhere better in life," Ryou concluded.

'_Bakura?'_ Yugi had heard that name before, maybe it was when he and Atemu…

"Ryou," Yugi said quickly, scaring his friend at the sudden firm statement. "I think that I may be in this bet as well," he stated.

"Really?" Ryou asked, wondering how his friend had gotten into the same pickle he had only a week or so ago. "What a coincidence," he add, trying to get his new thoughts straight now.

"Yeah," Yugi said, realizing something. Did that mean that Atemu was only faking his sudden feelings for him now? Just to win a bet? Did that mean that Atemu didn't really care for him?

Yugi's eyes drooped as more and more possible thoughts appeared in his head, and his mood fell even deeper in despair. "They probably just want our blood to feast on," Yugi mumbled to himself.

Ryou looked down at Yugi, seeing that Yugi's mood had somewhat fallen. Sighing, he thought of another topic, one that he thought might not be so depressing. "Why are we in here? Do you know?" he asked, gaining his friend's attention.

Yugi bit his lip, still not liking what he had heard before. "When I was brought here, I heard that humans would be hung in like two days or something like that," he said solemnly. He heard Ryou's breath hitch a little at his statement.

"Hung?" Ryou repeated, making sure that he had heard right. Yugi nodded. "We need to get out of here," he stated, and walked over to the steel bars.

Yugi sighed. "Not to sound like I'm totally depressed, but I can't do anything at the moment Ryou," he stated. "I don't think that I should be moving on account of my injured tailbone, and whatever else that may be injured."

Ryou nodded. "Right," he said, and then he found that he could do nothing to get them out. So walking past Yugi's feet, Ryou sat down against the stone wall, and tried to think of something.

* * *

The ogre entered a room where other guards of all creatures were sitting, waiting for their shifts. The others looked at him, and then turned their attention to the unconscious vampire. "What do I do with this?" the ogre said, flinging the vampire to the ground.

A werewolf covered with blonde hair and brown eyes stood up, immediately recognizing the vampire. "Atemu…" he whispered to himself. Looking up at the pissed off ogre, he stated firmly, "I'll take him, no need to worry."

The ogre gave the werewolf a hard look, and grumbled. "Whatever." He then marched off to his post.

Jono looked at his co-workers and found them already uninterested in the find. Going to his knees, Jono gingerly picked up his friend, making sure that none of his sharp claws were digging into the vampire's back. "Don't rat," he told the other guards, and walked out of the room, and then out of the dungeon's area.

About a five miles later, Jono's home came into view, and he looked down at Atemu, wondering why he was found in the dungeons of all places, and why he was out cold.

Kicking his old door open, Jono stepped inside his messy home to be met with a kiss from Seto. "Hello puppy," he greeted, not even noticing that Atemu was in Jono's arms.

"Not now Seto," Jono said, something he rarely told his lover. "Atemu was found in the dungeons and he's for some reason out like a light," he concluded.

Seto's eyes narrowed, but soon unsharpened when he got a good look at Atemu's face. "He doesn't look too good. He seems really pale," he observed.

Jono nodded, a few ticks flying here and there. "Yeah, he doesn't seem to have a fever or anything. So he's probably not sick."

Seto took Atemu from Jono's hands, and carried the paling vampire to the moth-eaten couch. There, he gently placed Atemu on it, and then looked for something that was on one of Jono's shelves. "Have any healing potions?" he asked suddenly after going through two shelves.

"Ah…yes! I do. What for though?" Jono asked, fetching the healing potion.

Jono handed Seto the purple liquid, and Seto pulled out the quark. "I think that he has been poisoned."

* * *

A/N: Here's chapter thirteen! Hope that the action wasn't too boring. Please read and review!


	14. Silly Bet

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Atemu blinked his eyes open when he felt a strange liquid being forced down his throat.

He coughed at the horrible taste, and looked up, startled to see Seto hovering over him with a potion bottle in his hand. "What's going on?" he asked confused, sitting up quickly, but major dizziness pushed him back down.

Seto raised an eyebrow at the vampire. "You were poisoned," he stated simply. "From what, we have no information," he added, taking a step back.

'_Poisoned?'_ Atemu thought wearily, sitting up slowly this time.

Sure that the dizziness wouldn't come this time, Atemu proceeded to stand up, but Jono pushed him back down. "Don't you dare think that you're moving around now," he huffed.

"Where did you find me?" Atemu asked, submitting to Jono's hand on his shoulder.

Jono looked at Seto for a moment, and then answered, "One of the dungeon's guards found you unconscious," he stated. "Don't know what you of all people were doing there, but I decided to just bring you here and figure out what was wrong." Seto's elbow nudged him. "I mean, Seto found out what was wrong with you; but I was the one who carried you all the way here!"

Atemu's memories suddenly flooded back into his mind. _'So that what I smelled when I woke up, whoever took Yugi_ _poisoned me!'_ Then memories of the dungeon came to him. "Yugi!"

"You mean the human?" Seto suddenly cut in, remembering his talk with the human from before.

"Yes," Atemu said, standing up now. "Some imposter took him from me, and most likely poisoned me in my sleep," he explained. "So I found Yugi at the dungeons, and got him out of his cell… then, I can't remember what happened after that," he concluded, biting his lip.

Jono's eyes widened, making him look suddenly vicious. "You mean Yugi was in there?" he exclaimed. "I was never told that a human was brought in!"

"Do you think there's any way I could get him out?" Atemu asked hopefully.

Jono bit his lip. "I'm not authorized to do that Atemu," he stated, looking down, hoping that the vampire wouldn't become enraged. "But I'm sure that I can work something out," he reassured.

Atemu growled. Jono worked there, so he should be able to get Yugi out right? Well, apparently, Jono had to follow the village's laws; otherwise there'd probably be dire consequences. Just like everything else. Great.

"How many guards are usually on duty?" he asked, his head starting to faintly throb again.

Jono scratched his hear, a few ticks flying out as usual. "Usually there are about four on patrol, but there's usually six more off duty. They change every two hours though," he replied.

Atemu smiled. "I've gotten an idea."

* * *

Bakura came within distance of the dungeons. "He better not be in there. Too many fucking stubborn ogres."

Making his way down the small slope, Bakura swallowed the rest of the coppery blood that was still in his mouth from when the imposter punched him.

Walking towards the entrance, Bakura raised an eyebrow when he didn't come across any ogres. Actually, he didn't sense any guards around when he walked down the halls to where the cells were.

Opening the large door that he thought the cells were, Bakura walked in, feeling the cool and dank air hit his face full force.

His hands in his pockets, Bakura proceeded down the narrow hallway, looking in each cell. Near the end of the hallway, Bakura finally spotted two figures.

"Ryou?" he called into the cell, the boy's name coming out in a nasty tone.

Nothing moved at first, but then the figure in the back stood up, and walked forward. "Bakura?" it asked in a familiar voice.

Since the place was dark, Bakura could only faintly see Ryou's face. "Who brought you here?" Bakura demanded, his pissed off mood staying in place.

From what he could tell, Ryou looked down slightly, but answered, "I don't know."

Bakura growled. The vampire was now sure one hundred percent that it was that imposter. "Who's in there with you?" he asked, pointing at the person who was lying on the floor.

"Um, that's Yugi," Ryou said, looking at Bakura's slightly confused expression. "He and I are friends in my…world," he explained, thinking of his nice safe home now.

Bakura ignored Ryou's homesickness, and spat, "get him up, I might know who he belongs to."

Ryou bit his lip again, and answered, "he's already told me. He was kidnapped by another vampire named 'Atemu', but somehow he's injured his tailbone, and doesn't think he should stand up now."

'_So Atemu's brat is in there too?'_ Bakura asked himself. Surely Atemu would have come and get him by now, well, unless he put him in there himself…

Suddenly grasping the iron bars, Bakura pulled them up making the ends shoot up, and then he curled them more upward so that he could walk through. Bakura inwardly smirked at the gawking teen as he stepped inside the cell. Kneeling down next to Yugi, the vampire was surprised to see that the tri color haired boy was fast asleep.

Bakura soon noticed that Ryou had neared, and Bakura simply stated, "I'll bring him back with us, surely Atemu will come by." Bakura then scooped Yugi's sleeping form off the ground, and walked out of the cell, Ryou trailing close behind.

Bakura slipped through the door he came through at the end of the hallway, and heard Ryou close it. That's when he sensed a guard. Turning around, Bakura whispered hastily, "Get behind that corner, and take him with you." Bakura handed Yugi over to Ryou, but sadly Ryou didn't have the strength to hold his friend the way Bakura did. Instead, he just made Yugi stand up, and he then somewhat dragged the smaller to the corner like he was a puppet without strings.

Looking back to see if Ryou and Yugi were in sight, Bakura turned around when he couldn't see the two teens anymore. Slipping into a shadow himself, he waited for the expected ogre to make his entrance.

As the heavy footsteps drew closer, Bakura curled up his fist and then saw the ogre come into sight. As the unknowing ogre passed, the vampire grabbed him and shoved him against the wall, and punched him until he was unconscious. Deciding that he didn't need the meal, Bakura let the ogre drop, and went to see if the two teens were still where he left them.

Slightly relieved that they were both still there, Bakura took the sleeping teen into his arms once more, and headed out of the dungeons, hoping that he wouldn't have to come back anytime soon.

* * *

Atemu, Seto and Jono hurried to the dungeons, and Jono let them easily slip in without any interferences. Shoving his way through doors, Atemu came to the door where the cells were and literally ripped it open, running to where Yugi's cell was.

"He's not here," he stated, looking more closely into the cell.

"There's another cell that seems to be ripped open down here," came Seto's voice.

Atemu ran to where Seto was standing, and peered into the cell, finding nothing. Biting his lip, worry started to build up, and he turned to Jono. "There weren't any hangings today, were there?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I don't think any were scheduled for today," came the werewolf's reply. "We could always go check," he suggested.

Atemu sensed Seto slightly cringe, but he would rather check. "Fine. You lead the way," he said, stepping aside.

As Jono walked through a larger hallway, he unlocked a couple doors, and soon the trio were outside, and Atemu could somewhat see the gallows. Jono led them to a corner of the square and opened yet another door, making all three pinch their noses.

Atemu's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, and he paused for a moment when he laid eyes on a pile of bodies of many dead, decaying creatures. _'This may be harder than it looks,'_ he told himself as Jono grabbed a torch.

"Uh, so welcome to the room of the dead, literally," Jono said, taking his paw off of his nose, all the while trying to make a joke, but soon realized that his joke failed miserably.

Seto stepped over a body of an elf, and narrowed his eyes. "So, you guys just let bodies rot in here until there's nothing left?" he asked, his voice an unusual tone since he was holding his nose from the stench.

"Yup," Jono answered. "So it might be a little hard to find Yugi, Atemu," he told Atemu who was looking through the pile of fresh bodies. "Can you tell what's new and old?" he asked suddenly.

Atemu nodded, his hand still pinching his nose shut. "In a way," he explained. "I can somewhat tell if there's blood in someone's body when they're dead. The one's that are recently dead still have blood in their body, just not flowing however. But the old dead ones' blood is either dried up, or clogged so that I can't sense it." He noticed Jono and Seto giving him a weird look. "It's a vampire thing," he stated, and looked some more.

About fifteen minutes passed, and Atemu's hopes rose, as he couldn't find Yugi in the various piles. "He's not in here," Atemu finally announced, making Jono and Seto more than overjoyed to leave.

Locking the doors to the nightmarish room, Jono led the way out of the dungeons, and the trio found themselves not sure of where to go now, in which making Atemu's hopes fall again.

"Didn't you used to be able to sense scents Atemu?" Jono asked.

"Yes, I still can," Atemu, replied. "But he hasn't been through here," he added.

Jono's eyes sharpened as something suddenly came out of the dungeon's entrance. "Isn't that…Bakura?" he asked, slightly confused as of how he was able to get into the dungeons in the first place.

"What?" Atemu asked turning around to see what the werewolf noticed. Jono was right. Bakura was coming out of the dungeons and his human 'Ryou' was right behind him. But what Atemu saw next made him enraged.

As Bakura came there way, Atemu's eyes sharpened, and his fists curled. What was he doing with Yugi? He must be cheating. "Bakura!" he shouted when the other vampire was within hearing distance.

Bakura growled as he suddenly saw Atemu, with the mutt and that seemingly depressed acting doppelganger behind him. Walking up to the trio, Bakura set the human in his arms down on the damp grass and snapped, "What?"

Atemu clenched his jaw and drew back his arm, in a matter of seconds, Bakura was on the ground with a bloodied lip. "What the hell was that for?" he asked, his rage rising to a dangerous level.

Atemu growled, and roughly picked the other off the ground by grabbing Bakura's shoulders. "What the hell do you think you're doing with him?" he asked with clenched teeth, his eyes slanting downward when he meant Yugi.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?" Bakura snapped, his eyes becoming nothing more than mere slits.

Atemu's anger notched up when his friend didn't answer him directly. Bakura always had to ask a question after a question was asked of him. "You're taking my victim," he growled dangerously. "You're cheating," he added.

Bakura's expression seemed like it wanted to turn into a smile and laugh, but Bakura merely stated, "No, I'm not cheating. Ryou was taken by an imposter, and I found him in a cell along with your runt." He shoved Atemu's hands off his shoulders. "You weren't around, so I thought that it would be best to…to…"

Atemu's face almost broke out into a smirk. "Help me?" he asked in a teasing manner, his anger completely forgotten.

"Yes," Bakura growled, hating the fact that Atemu said it in the most teasing way. "But that doesn't mean you should get on my back, and nearly break my jaw!" he concluded, yet again wiping blood off his chin for the second time that day.

Atemu's mood became serious again, and he picked Yugi up, who thankfully was starting to wake. "Well, thank you then," he stated. He then turned to Ryou. "As my companion said, you two were trapped in a cell. By any chance, was he awake?"

Ryou nodded hesitantly. "He said that he hurt his tail bone, but he didn't say how. He didn't tell me anything actually," he explained quickly.

Atemu gave the albino teen a small smile, and turned to Bakura. "What about an imposter?"

Bakura sighed, obviously not wanting to explain things at the moment. "I met up with an imposter while I was searching for Ryou," he stated. "He looked exactly like me, and didn't want to spill anything. Apparently though, he's the one that kidnapped and placed Ryou in the dungeons."

'_Maybe it's the same guy that put Yugi in there,'_ Atemu thought.

"The guy was a little too cocky. He had the nerve to tell me off," Bakura interrupted. "Makes me think of Marik, since he's the only one brave enough to tell me…" he trailed off, realizing who the imposter was.

"You seen Marik lately?" he asked Atemu.

"Not since you guys fought over your lover," Atemu replied, making Bakura growl, and Ryou blush.

Bakura clenched his fists, and he spat, "damn it."

Atemu growled as he suddenly realized that it was Marik who took their victims to the dungeons. "Why the hell would he do that?" he spat.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find him, and make him wish he never preformed that damn action," Bakura threatened, remembering earlier moments.

* * *

Seto and Jono looked at each other as the two vampires started to come up with a plan to find Marik and make him pay for whatever he did.

Jono felt good for helping, but wished that he could do more now that he was somewhat involved. "So what exactly happened?" he asked after a couple minutes.

Bakura and Atemu turned, and seemed like they didn't want to r everything that they had come up with. Sighing, Atemu explained, "We're positive that Marik posed of both of us, and took these two," Atemu said, motioning to Yugi and Ryou who were behind him. "So Marik took these two to the dungeons, and obviously he's cheating with the bet that he made," he concluded.

"And? What do you two plan to do about that?" Seto interrupted.

"We were thinking that we could capture him or something, and get him to spill, but as most know, Marik isn't the person who likes to talk when he's caught for doing something," Bakura explained.

"Any way we can help?" Jono asked hopefully.

Atemu thought for a moment before smiling. "Yes, you both can."

* * *

"You okay Yugi?" Atemu asked, noticing that the teen hadn't said anything for a while.

Yugi sighed, but nonetheless lied, "Yes, I'm fine Atemu."

Atemu stopped, and took a hold of Yugi's shoulder, also stopping him. "You guys go ahead, we'll catch up," he called out to the rest who stopped.

Bakura sniggered. "Something's going to happen," he laughed, making Ryou blush beside him.

Watching as the group of four strode away, Atemu looked down at Yugi again, and stated, "Please Yugi, something seems wrong."

Yugi bit his lip and looked down at his shoes. "Everything's fine Atemu, no need to worry," he said in a depressed tone.

Sensing that he wasn't going to get anywhere, Atemu knelt down to the teen's height, and cupped his face, and planted a small kiss on Yugi's lips. "Please? Just tell me what happened when I blacked out then."

Yugi inwardly cringed at the moment, and explained what was asked of him. "I started to freak out, because you wouldn't wake up. You just fell to the ground without warning," he stated. "An ogre or something came along, and I dragged you around a corner, and I noticed that he had Ryou over his shoulder.

"I watched as the ogre put Ryou into a cell, and I tried to stay hidden, but the ogre noticed me, and I knew I couldn't get away with you, so I just ran," Yugi huffed out. "Unfortunately, the ogre caught me, and threw me across the floor, and now I'm believing that I only bruised my tail bone," he explained, looking up to see Atemu's strange expression.

"Did you break it or bruise it?" Atemu asked, his voice slightly concerned.

"Bruised it, because I probably wouldn't be able to walk if it was broken. Too much pain," Yugi replied. "But then the ogre put me in the same cell as Ryou. Then I watched as the ogre flipped you onto his shoulder and walked out. What happened to you?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

"I was poisoned earlier, and it just took affect without warning. But that's beside the point." Atemu stood up from his knees, and asked, "Is that what's got you down?"

Yugi opened his mouth, remembering what Ryou had told him, but quickly shut it. What would happen if Atemu knew he knew?

"You kind of kept it a secret from me, and I'm not sure you should know I have that information," Yugi simply stated.

Atemu frowned. It couldn't be that bad. "I promise I won't get mad Yugi," he promised, seeing uncertainty in the teen's eyes.

Turning his head down, Yugi blurted out quickly, "Ryou told me why you kidnapped me, because he was kidnapped for the same reason."

Yugi knew? Bakura spilled to his human? "So, so are you mad?"

Yugi looked back up at the vampire, and restrained the urge to shout. "It was a stupid bet you three made. I mean, kidnap a human and who ever can make it fall in love first in two weeks wins? You three must've been really bored," Yugi half spat.

"I thought that it'd turn out differently, not like this," Atemu tried. "I didn't mean for all of this bullshit to happen," he added.

"But to get three innocent people involved for your needs?" Yugi asked, his shoulders shaking. "I could be safe at home with my grandfather, and friends. I could live a simple life, but I had to be put into the middle of this mess," he expounded.

"Yugi, please, I-" Atemu was cut off by Yugi's next question.

"What do you actually get if you win anyway? Or do I have to ask Ryou for an answer?" Yugi asked his tone sounding a little out of what Atemu came to know.

Atemu bit his lip. This part, Yugi may not like. He honestly didn't like it, but agreed anyway just for the fun of it. He never thought that he'd fall for Yugi, but just have Yugi fall for him. "Ah, that you may not like," he said quietly.

"Why not?" Yugi asked, suddenly thinking of the worst possible thing that could happen.

Atemu turned his head away, and stated real quickly, "Whoever wins, gets to take the other two humans, and can do whatever he wants with them. And that does mean _anything_."

After a couple seconds, Atemu turned his head to look at Yugi, and he felt guilty for saying what he had said. "And if I send you home, that would break the bet." He looked at Yugi to see if anything changed, and unfortunately nothing did.

Lifting his head, Yugi quietly muttered, "but it'd be so simple. You get your other two friends to drop the bet, and then nothing would happen to you."

Atemu bit his lip, not sure that Yugi's plan would work out nicely. "Marik and Bakura would never back down to an already set bet. They wouldn't agree to it."

Yugi sighed, and looked back at the way they came. "How many days until this silly bet thing is over?" he asked.

"In about three or so days. We decided to meet up in town, but somehow I think that that's going to be a problem, since Marik has cheated," Atemu answered, trying to think things out now that everything seemed messed up.

"Lets just go," Yugi sighed beginning to walk the way the other four went.

Atemu nodded, and followed the teen up the hill.

* * *

Marik chuckled as Bakura's features left his body.

Everything was working perfectly for him now. Both Atemu and Bakura's brats were in the dungeons, and bound to die in a matter of days.

Not to mention he finally got the chance to punch the crap out of Bakura. God that felt good.

But through it all, he knew that he'd been too cocky when he was around Bakura, and had a faint idea that Bakura would soon figure out that it was him.

"Quit worrying," he told himself, feeling nervousness bubble up in the pit of his stomach.

Though, of course if Bakura and Atemu did figure out that it was him, he did have a back up plan. Thinking that most likely that the two would just _have_ to get their victims out of jail, Marik guessed that they'd think of some kind of plan, and try to kill him or something, and in the process, breaking up the bet; maybe.

But if the two didn't kill him, and didn't break up the bet, Marik had his own advantages to get the two humans dead. So many possibilities to choose from. He could throw the two out into the street of the village, and they'd be killed on the spot by the village's guards, and Marik had observed how close his two companions got with the humans.

"For all I know, they're heading here now," Marik chuckled, thinking of how devastated his friends were. "But if this is going to be turned into a fight, you two have no idea what I can unleash."

* * *

A/N: Long fourteenth chapter. I hope that it wasn't too confusing, but a lot of things are explained next chapter, so don't fret! Please read and review!


	15. Last Defense

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Marik chuckled when he heard a couple loud bangs on the old apartment's rickety door.

Walking over to the door with slight caution, Marik opened the door slowly, only to be met with a curled, blonde paw connecting with his jaw, thus sending him back a couple steps.

Regaining his composure quickly, Marik put on an evil grin and asked with a small amount of fake innocence, "is everything okay? Why did you do that?"

Bakura, Atemu and Jono stepped into the small apartment and glared at the blonde bloodsucker.

"Why did you do what you did?" Atemu snapped. "Why did you cheat? Was it because Bakura won that small conflict between you two?" he added.

"I have my reasons," Marik replied, lifting his eyebrows, looking down at the floor.

"What 'reasons' then?" Bakura spat, hating his friend with each passing second.

Marik looked up, and narrowed his eyes, his mood changing to anger. "You two have everything; a home, you're both ahead in the bet, and from what I've gathered, you each have a lover." He watched as the other vampires' eyes widened slightly.

Bakura growled. "So you made up all this mess because you were jealous? Just because you knew that you weren't going to win? That's really low for you Marik," he spat, taking a step deeper into the home.

"I didn't even tell you why I cheated," Marik cut in, a scowl forming on his features.

Atemu raised a brow. "Then why did you cheat?"

Marik knew that his friends wouldn't pity him, they didn't before, and he knew that they wouldn't now. They'd probably end up hating him anyway. "You remember Malik, right?" he asked, earning confused looks.

"What about him?" Jono asked, his lethal claws still out.

"You all probably remember his death. As you can recall, I loved Malik with all my dead heart had to offer. Back then, I had a decent home, and my life seemed pretty planned out. But when I found Malik dead, my life seemed do go straight down the drain," he stated.

"What does this have to do with the bet then?" Atemu asked, having a faint idea of where Marik was taking the conversation.

"I made the bet, hoping that you two would find love, just like I did," Marik started. His lips then curled into a smirk. "I was never convinced to actually do it, but ever since we shook on it, I planned that I'd kill your humans somehow."

Bakura and Atemu both seemed to snarl at the same time. "So when you and I were fighting over Ryou, if you won, you planned on killing him the whole time?"

"Yup," Marik answered with a sickening grin.

"And you knew that if you placed them in the dungeons, they'd be killed within a couple days, right?" Atemu expounded.

Marik's grin turned into a deep smirk. "Right on the dot."

Atemu curled his hands into fists and growled in a deadly tone. "So basically, what you're saying, is that this was all just over the death of Malik?"

"Bingo!" Marik exclaimed. "But I didn't finish what I was saying," he added. "So as I said before, my life took its turn for the worst, and both of yours suddenly became better. You never really offered me a home, or anything. So technically, part of what I did was because of both of you."

Bakura couldn't take it anymore. From what he just heard, Marik was blaming his actions on him and Atemu. Running up to the blonde, Bakura drew back his own fist this time, and aimed it at Marik's face. But what he didn't realize was that Marik had moved so fast that only his knuckles brushed over his covered ear.

"What?" Bakura asked aloud dumbfounded, only to suddenly have a blow to his stomach, sending him to the floor.

Atemu watched as his albino friend crashed to the floor, holding his middle in pain. Looking up as soon as he was sure that Bakura was fine, he noticed Marik lunging right for him.

Moving out of the way with as much speed as he could, he pulled Bakura up, and whispered into his ear, "when did Marik have such agility?"

"I picked it up about three hundred, or four hundred years ago," Marik answered, making Atemu and Bakura look at him shocked. "As you know, most vampires have some kind of unique ability within them. For example, you Atemu are a day walker. And you Bakura…well, I'm not really sure about you. Maybe it's the fact that you can't hold your temper in check," he teased.

Growling in frustration, Bakura was held back by Atemu, and heard Atemu whisper, "wait until he's off guard."

Looking at Marik when he didn't reply, Atemu stated, "So what now? What are we supposed to fight over?"

Marik had an evil smile across his face, and stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "now I go get your humans and kill them myself. I'm guessing that you have them right outside the door, am I wrong?"

His eyes narrowing, he turned his head around and shouted at Jono, "block his exit, and tell Seto to get Yugi and Ryou to a safe place. We'll hold him off."

Jono didn't respond, but nodded, and stood in front of the doorway, shouting to Seto what Atemu wanted him to do.

Meanwhile, Atemu and Bakura stood their ground, waiting for their friend to lash out. "We won't let you touch them Marik. Not for your own selfish desires," Bakura spat.

"I think not," Marik expounded. "You both deserve to feel the pain I felt when I lost Malik, and that will be accomplished by killing your beloved humans."

"We don't deserve anything Marik. If you wanted a home, if you wanted a place for comfort, all you had to do was simply ask," Atemu stated, trying to reason with his crazed up friend, hoping the whole time that Marik would change his mind of what he was trying to do. "It's a stupid idea to try to make us suffer for your loss. Just let it go."

Marik seemed to have registered nothing of what Atemu had said, and snarled, running at his friends. Lashing his arms out, he effortlessly pushed back the two vampires into the unstable wall.

Running as fast as he could out of the apartment, Marik grabbed the werewolf by the neck, and threw him inside the home before he ran a couple yards away, and watched as the brick apartment came crashing on the three supernatural creatures.

Laughing to himself as he waited for movement, he didn't see Bakura and Atemu or Jono rise out of the rubble. "Now to those two humans," he whispered to himself, easily picking up the scents of two humans and one doppelganger.

* * *

Running at his top speed, Seto gripped Ryou and Yugi's hands even tighter, hoping that they wouldn't fall from the speed.

Darting through the scattered trees, hoping that he wouldn't run into any, Seto looked back for a split second, seeing that no one was following.

Seeing a stable looking shed ahead of him, Seto took a sharp turn, and inwardly smirked when the two humans gasped at the sudden direction.

Slowing down, Seto swiftly entered the shed, and slammed the door shut behind them. Turning around, Seto watched as the humans gasped for air, and slumped down onto a forgotten wooden box. "We should be safe for a while, Atemu and Bakura said that they'd hold off Marik as long as they could."

"So what exactly does this Marik guy want with us?" Yugi asked when he gained his breath again.

"I couldn't hear much, but I'm guessing that Marik wants to avenge his dead lover by making Atemu and Bakura suffer," Seto replied.

"How would they suffer then?" Ryou asked curiously.

Seto took a breath and stated quickly, "by killing both of you." He watched the humans' faces with slight interest, and noticed that they didn't seem too fazed by it. "If you didn't know yet, he was the one that put you two in the dungeon, and he knew after a few days there, you'd be hanged."

Yugi looked up at Seto, slightly angered at the tone the doppelganger had. "We know this," he stated. Then, "what if Marik does find us? Not that I'm hoping he does though."

Seto bit his lip for a second. He thought of this briefly, assuming that Jono, Atemu and Bakura would be able to handle the crazed blonde. "If he does defeat those three, I'll shape shift, and you two need to get out of sight."

Yugi gave Seto a confused look. "For what reason? Why do we need to hide?"

Seto sighed. Were all humans like this? "Because I said so. It'll give Marik an advantage, but then again, it'll give him a disadvantage." Looking at the teens, Yugi still had a confused look on his face, but Ryou didn't. Ryou seemed to have a shocked expression on his face.

"What?" Seto asked as Ryou kept staring.

Ryou seemed at a loss of words for a moment before stating, "I didn't know you were a shape shifter."

Seto raised an eyebrow, and smirked a little. "I'm only half shape shifter as I am only half doppelganger. Here's a demonstration." Seto looked down at the floor for a moment and suddenly became about only one foot tall.

"You're a cat?" Ryou asked, surprise and slight excitement in his voice as he just witnessed a tall being become a brown and fluffy one-foot tall animal. "Can you become someone else?"

Ryou's question was answered with a small 'meow' and watched as his double came face to face with him. "Wow," was all Ryou could muster out.

Ryou felt a tap on his shoulder from Yugi and turned around, allowing Seto to change back to his original self. "What is it Yugi?"

Yugi turned his head to the side, and asked, "don't you think that this whole thing is completely pointless? I mean, we were dragged here to be some vampires' lovers, and as of now a vampire that turned psycho wants us dead! I think that we should get back to our own world Ryou, and leave these guys behind, like it never happened."

Ryou sighed, knowing exactly what Yugi meant. "I know Yugi, but we're in a tight spot. And from what I've observed, the portals back to our world are being securely guarded with other creatures that would kill us on the spot anyway," he said. "If this Marik guy is defeated, our only chance to getting back home is by Bakura and Atemu."

"I know but…" Yugi looked over Ryou's shoulder to see Seto changing his hand from a fin, to a dog's paw, probably from boredom. "…But if we get out of this alive, would we want to leave? Because I think I've been falling for Atemu a little bit…" Yugi looked at the ground suddenly, blushing at his own words, finally admitting his hidden feelings that he had for his look-a-like.

Ryou smiled, and nodded too. "Yeah, I think I've been falling for Bakura a little too, even if he is a little rough, and even if he shoved like three potions down my throat."

Yugi giggled at his albino friend's statement. "Yes, but I'm kinda afraid if we leave, we won't be able to see them again."

Ryou frowned suddenly. "But wait, weren't you mad at Atemu before?"

Yugi bit his lip for a second. "Yes I was, especially after you told me why we were here. But seeing as he and Bakura are willing to keep us alive, I've forgiven him."

Ryou blinked. "That quickly?"

Yugi shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so."

The two teens were quiet for a couple minutes, both glancing up once and a while at Seto who was still changing his hands appearance. He seemed pretty amused by it…

Suddenly smelling a faint new scent in the air, Seto stopped what he was doing, and looked out through a small hole that was imbedded into the shed. Catching a quick glimpse of blonde hair and lavender eyes, Seto quickly strode over to the two humans, and ushered them behind the large crates.

"Stay here, I think Marik found us," he whispered as he moved some of the crates to cover up the humans more.

Finally deciding that the humans were invisible behind the crates, Seto quickly changed his appearance and hid behind a small crate himself, cursing Marik for whatever he may have done to defeat the two vampires and his puppy.

* * *

Marik's nostrils suddenly filled up with the strongest scent yet of the trio. Looking around, trying to find out where they may be hiding, Marik's eyes lay on a shed about twenty-five yards away.

Smirking to himself, Marik started to run at the shed at half of the speed that he could really reach. Slowing down dramatically as he came within mere feet of the shed, Marik reached out at the shed's wooden door handle, and swung it open with a bang.

Walking into the old shed, Marik picked up the nearest human's scent and practically dove behind the crate. Satisfied that he had found the human called Yugi, Marik laughed.

"Let me go!" Yugi screeched as Marik's grip tightened slightly around the delicate neck.

Marik paid no attention to the small hands clawing at his own, and grinned like a mad man. "I don't think so little Yugi. And here's a newsflash for you," he stated and Yugi immediately stopped struggling to listen to Marik's announcement.

"As of now, your dear lover, Atemu is gone, so it suits the fact that you should be gone too." Marik laughed at Yugi's saddened expression and gripped tighter as the small teen started fidgeting again.

A couple seconds passed by and Yugi suddenly gasped and drew his hand back, which had turned into a fist, and Marik's grip was hastily loosened, and he was slammed back against the shed's wall.

Looking up, Marik growled at who Yugi really was. "Seto," he breathed, giving the doppelganger/shape shifter his biggest glare. He had fallen for the brunette's trap.

"You don't think things through I see," Seto observed as he gripped Marik's own neck this time. "That's probably what's going to be your downfall to this pointless plan of yours."

"Oh really? I think that you underestimated me Seto," Marik said, drawing in a sharp breath as he lifted his feet and legs up from the floor, and crushed his back against the wall, and kicked Seto in the middle, his neck quickly being released from the brunette's grip.

Marik regained his composure as he watched Seto hit the ground. "You're hiding the humans in here, aren't you Seto?" Marik asked in a matter of fact tone.

Seto gritted his teeth, and pulled himself up. Deciding that he should go against Marik with a stronger being, Seto quickly changed into a wizard. Feeling a faint line of magic running through his veins, and the common knowledge that all wizards had, Seto muttered a spell under his breath, and felt a ball of energy gathering in his hands.

Seto wished that the energy would hurry up when Marik started to lunge at him. Moving out of the way, Seto was unsuccessful as his jaw connected with the vampire's fist.

Feeling the ball of energy leaving his veins, Seto mentally cursed not being a stronger shape shifter, for he wasn't able to have the full power of every being he transformed into. Deciding to change into Marik himself, he heard the vampire snicker.

"You think that if you change into me, you have all my strength?" Marik laughed. "You're a sorry excuse Seto, a sorry excuse for a shape shifter."

Seto growled. "What for?"

"I've noticed over the years that you can't take all of the powers of every being you change into," Marik explained. "You have no control," he added with a smirk.

Seto's eyes narrowed. He knew this fact that Marik stated was true, but he'd always brush it away. "My powers do not concern you," he spat, and took up some speed, attempting to knock the vampire out.

Marik frowned, and leaped out of the way, but this time wasn't quick enough. He gasped as Seto's -or his for that matter- arm wrapped itself around his neck, and dramatically tightened. Marik growled when he realized that he couldn't get out of the hold.

Thinking of the only way out, Marik quickly retracted his fangs out, and bit into Seto's arm with all he had.

As expected, the vampire heard the doppelganger cry out, and the hold around Marik's neck loosened. Marik then elbowed the brunette, and watched as Seto changed back to his normal self, smashing against the wall when he was suddenly kicked in the middle.

Marik chuckled, and stated in a teasing way, "now who doesn't think things through?"

Seeing that Seto wasn't going to be able to get up by himself, Marik strode over to the tall creature, and took him by the collar, and raised him up. "I think that now is the time that you best be going," Marik said through clenched teeth.

Seto didn't reply, but he just coughed up some blood. Drawing his hand back into a fist, Marik then proceeded to punch the doppelganger's face.

After the task was done, Marik let Seto drop with a bloodied broken nose, and bruises rained upon his face. And to top that off, unconscious.

"Now where are you two hiding?" Marik asked himself aloud, finding the real scents of the humans this time.

* * *

Yugi and Ryou shivered as they soon realized that Marik had just defeated their only defense left. They cringed as they heard Marik ask his last question out loud.

Daring not to say anything, Yugi and Ryou crushed their bodies up against the shed's wall, still covered up by the large crates.

The two teens waited and listened as Marik's footsteps came closer and closer with each passing second. They sucked in their breaths.

"There you two are," Marik's voice came in a deadly, but amused tone.

Ryou and Yugi's breaths found their way out when Marik smashed away the crates covering them. "Run Yugi, run!" Ryou made to say, but was grabbed by the arm, and pulled into the vampire's embrace.

Yugi was halfway to the shed's door, when he was suddenly tripped, and was harshly pulled up and crushed against the wall. "Let go!" Yugi cried out as Marik's grip tightened around his neck.

"I don't think so," Marik snapped. Then in an opposite tone, he stated, "it's a shame that your lovers can't witness you deaths. It'd be one hell of a show."

Ryou struggled against the tightening hold and whimpered, "Please, we haven't done anything to you."

"Do you seriously think that your pleas and begs will stop me?" Marik asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yugi coughed, his breath was shortening. "But wait," he tried. "If you kill us, how will Atemu and Bakura suffer? Aren't they already dead?" A plan was forming.

Marik's eyes narrowed. So these humans wanted to wriggle out of his grasp by talking eh? "I thought of that, and yes, they wouldn't suffer if I killed you now, but as of now, I'm killing you both for a meal."

Yugi gasped as the last of his breath left his throat, and he watched as Ryou started to struggle more as Marik leaned his head down to his small neck. "Don't!" he heard Ryou cry out.

His vision was starting to blur from the lack of oxygen, but Yugi suddenly felt Marik's hot breath against his now exposed neck. "Please…don't…" he managed to breath out with a strained voice.

Marik held his grip on Bakura's human even tighter as he felt Ryou starting to slip out. Not responding to Yugi's almost inaudible plea, Marik nipped at the soft flesh; and then ruthlessly bit in.

Yugi and Ryou's screams were the only noise heard.

* * *

A/N: Well, I'm probably going to be killed. And there's only two days left till Christmas! (cries) Well, anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and please review! Happy Holidays!


	16. Amethyst Blood

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and Happy (belated) New Year!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

The nearly hollow body was carelessly shoved to the ground, and the other teen whimpered as he watched his friend's lifeless body hit the dirt floor.

"P-please…" Ryou pleaded, soft sobs escaping rapidly. "Do-don't…"

The blonde-haired vampire laughed at the boy's plead, but ignored it. "Don't think I'm about to stop now," he stated, taking a firmer grip on the teen.

Ryou felt his back jab into the poorly constructed wooden wall, and tried to set his chin down to his chest so that Marik wouldn't be able to reach his neck.

"You forgot I had a free hand little Ryou," Marik observed, letting his free hand forcefully snap up Ryou's chin. Seeing that Ryou wouldn't be able to push his hand away, Marik harshly turned Ryou's head to the side, so that he'd be able to get a better place to bite into.

Ryou shivered with fright he never knew that could be possible. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Ryou squeezed his eyes shut as Marik lowered his head to his vulnerable neck. He waited, and waited, and waited until…

Ryou was suddenly taken out of the vampire's death-like grip, and fell to the floor in a heap.

Catching his breath, Ryou's form still shook, and he looked up to see where the punching and kicking sounds were coming from.

Ryou was washed over with relief as he watched Bakura spin Marik around, and send a punch to his face. Marik stuttered back a few steps, but nonetheless seemed unharmed.

Pulling his legs up to his knees, Ryou silently watched the fight, as Atemu and Jono soon entered the shed.

* * *

"How dare you try to harm Ryou, you bastard!" Bakura snarled as he threw another successful punch into Marik's gut.

Marik barely heard the statement, as he doubled over in pain. Without warning, he was knocked to the ground by a newcomer. Looking up from his spot on the ground, Marik took note that it was now Atemu standing above him, with a look that could kill.

Atemu took a fistful of Marik's shirt, and pulled the blonde up furiously. "You don't deserve to live Marik," he growled under his breath, making Marik strain to hear what he had said.

Finding the opportune moment, Marik curled back a fist, and caught Atemu off guard. Now free from the hold, Marik wiped what blood there was from his lip, and started to retreat.

Almost to the entry, Marik was pulled back, and found himself on the floor again. This time he was met with Jono, the werewolf.

The werewolf snarled, and retracted his claws out. Within moment's Marik found his blood dripping onto the floor from his face. "Damn," he breathed, hating the sudden turn of events. Why couldn't he fight back?

Seeing as suddenly no one was around him for some reason, Marik pulled himself to his feet. Looking around, the only thing he saw was the unconscious form of a doppelganger, a dead human, and a scared to death teen hugging his knees against the back wall.

'_They're setting a trap!'_ Marik suddenly realized. He needed to track one of them, and fast.

Taking in a sharp breath, Marik narrowed his eyes, and tried to smell out a scent. He received none. Turning around swiftly, Marik then surveyed the small shed, and tried to detect anything that could be behind the large crates. He detected nothing.

Growling in frustration, Marik wondered why nothing was working as far as tracking went. Did they leave? No, they wouldn't, not without their precious lovers. But where did they go?

"Get out here! Now!" Marik demanded to the seemingly empty space around him.

Nothing stirred.

"Show your worthless faces!"

Still nothing.

Seeing as shouting wouldn't get the three to come out and fight, Marik turned his attention to the sobbing teen.

Knowing from past experiences that going to a victim would lead to ambush, Marik grinned. Pain to a loved one would get at least one of the three to show themselves.

Walking over to the white-haired teen with a smug look upon his face, Marik quickly grabbed Ryou, and twisted him around, so that the teen's back was pressed up against his chest. A shield such as this one could do wonders.

Smirking when Ryou whimpered again, and a fruitless attempt to break free came about, Marik shouted bravely, "I'll kill him on the spot! Just one bite could do it!"

Yet again, nothing stirred, and Marik narrowed his eyes, and swished them back and forth, searching for any sign of life.

Finding none, Marik proceeded to the next step. Taking a firm hold on Ryou's head, he twisted it quickly, earning a pained cry from the teen. Smiling as he brushed his lips on the soft skin, Marik slowly opened his mouth, knowing perfectly well that they were all watching.

Taking some precaution, Marik slowly backed up and his back hit the wall. But something wasn't right about this wall. It had a…"Shit."

With delicate care Bakura rammed his fist into Marik's head, without hurting the teen, and as Marik let go of Ryou, Jono took hold of the frightened teen. Sure that Ryou was out of the way, Bakura grabbed Marik by the collar, and hissed into his ear, "can't fight now? That's a shame, it looks like you had too much blood from that boy down there."

Marik finally realized that he had drunken too much of the boy's blood, and with a full stomach, it was slowing him down. Why did he forget that! How could he forget that!

Pushing the realization away, Marik gave Bakura another confused look, because the albino vampire was staring at the low ceiling for some reason. Bakura then nodded, and took a couple steps back.

Marik wanted to give Bakura what he deserved, but couldn't as he was suddenly knocked out as Atemu launched himself down onto him from the now broken roof.

* * *

Kicking the knocked out vampire's body to the side with his boot, Atemu growled. "Can't we just kill him anyway?"

Bakura sighed. Atemu sure was starting to sound like him. "You know we can't do that. We'd be reported, and then killed ourselves. The best we can do is take him to the dungeons, and say that he should just be hanged there."

Huffing at the answer, Atemu quickly vented his anger out as he remembered why he was here. "Yugi!" he shouted aloud, and rushed over to the lifeless body.

Picking the teen up, Atemu cradled the boy in his arms, trying his hardest not to break down completely. With little hope he had left, Atemu raised a hand to Yugi's chest, and tried to find a heart beat that all humans had.

His jaw trembling, Atemu couldn't find any.

Marik had taken his only love away. Never to return to any world again.

Burying his head into the crook of Yugi's neck, the vampire wept softly.

* * *

Seto awoke to the light slaps that Jono sent him.

"Seto!" Jono's eyes brightened when cobalt met honey. "Oh thank God!"

Seto inwardly smiled when Jono gave him a breathtaking hug, Seto looked over his lover's shoulder. In the back corner, Bakura seemed to be telling a shaking Ryou something, and eventually Ryou forgot all fright, and practically leaped into the albino's arms, and sobbing from what it looked like.

Next to that couple was Marik's body, and he well, looked pretty much out cold.

Sighing a sigh of relief, Seto thought back to what Marik had told him. He shivered at the small memory, and wished that it all had been false information. Jono hugged him tighter, small amounts of claws going through his shirt and then into his back.

Wincing, as there was still slight pain still there from when he fought Marik, Seto looked to where Atemu and Yugi were. The sight pained him.

"Jono," he stated in his regular voice. When Jono broke apart the embrace, Seto continued, "Go and see if Atemu and Yugi are alright. I-I'm not sure what happened there," he stated, realizing that he hadn't protected the humans as much as he was supposed to.

Jono seemed to have a grave look on his face, and Seto knew he knew what had happened. Nodding, the werewolf stood up, his tail not wagging back and forth for once.

Walking over to Atemu, Jono kneeled and put a paw on the vampire's shoulder, getting his attention. When Atemu looked up, Jono was taken aback slightly. He had never seen tears trail down his friend's face before.

"Is he…?"

Atemu's look gave Jono the answer. Biting his lip, Jono stated, "Can't you do a blood transfusion or something?"

The vampire looked at the werewolf with a stern look on his face, and he carefully set Yugi down onto the floor again. "I could, but as far as I know, it could turn him into a vampire. I don't think he'd want that," Atemu replied, using one hand to wipe away the tear tracks. "Besides, he doesn't even-"

"Atemu, I don't know if it was because you were crying, but your senses are becoming fuzzy. I can sense some blood still flowing slowly through his veins," Bakura cut in, his hand against Yugi's bitten flesh. "And if my facts are correct, there is a potion out there that you can give him that will create regular blood for him to live on."

"What? I've never head of such a potion," Atemu countered back. Bakura was probably just trying to make him feel better.

Bakura growled at Atemu's reply, but stated, "No Atemu. Trust me, there is such a potion out there." Atemu gave him a slightly hopeful look. "I can tell you that Marik didn't completely drain him Atemu. Your senses are probably just foggy."

"Where can you buy this potion Bakura?" Atemu asked convinced with Bakura's words, taking Yugi into his arms as he stood up.

"Wait," Jono laid a hand on Atemu's arm. "You need to stay here with Yugi, and the rest of us. Bakura can go out and get that potion from where ever without any complications. Remember what will happen if an officer catches you with a human?"

Atemu sent his gaze downward, and sighed in defeat. "Just hurry up Bakura," he huffed. "And take Marik with you, I can't stand the sight of him anymore," he added.

With a quick nod, Bakura picked up their unconscious ex-friend and headed out.

* * *

Bakura shifted the weight in his arms as he approached the dungeons. Going to the entrance, he was met with a beefy ogre with his arms crossed.

"What you got there?" the ogre asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A murderer," Bakura stated. "I suggest you kill him now, or at least keep a close eye on him while he's here," he added.

"And why's that? Is he _that_ bad?" the ogre asked with sarcasm.

Bakura narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Trust me, your lives will be a living hell if you don't do as I say," he growled at the guard. "Unless I need to make your life a living hell now to make you understand what I'm telling you," he threatened, meaning every word of it.

The ogre backed up slightly at the tone, now fully believing what the vampire had told him. Taking the unconscious creature from Bakura's arms he stated in a regal tone, "We'll have him kill by tomorrow." He handed Bakura a small pouch of coins.

"Let's hope so," Bakura snarled, turning on his heel to go fetch the potion that was needed.

Fifteen minutes later, Bakura really was making a creature's life hell.

"What do you mean one hundred thousand coins? Just for a stupid potion like that!" Bakura shouted pointing the bottle that was settled on the counter of the witches shop.

"I need the money, and this potion is very rare to find anywhere in this realm! Do you have any idea how long it took to make?" the witched screeched back.

"No, but there is a dying…creature out there that will make a friend go completely crazy!" Bakura snarled. Sighing, he started in a calmer voice, "Look, you're the only one with this fucking potion, and I don't intend to let my friend's life go down the drain!" God, if Atemu heard him say these things, he'd never be able to live them down.

When the witch didn't respond, Bakura grabbed at the counter, his knuckles turning white. This witch was much too stubborn. "I have at least one hundred coins on me, will that work?" He gritted his teeth, trying to prevent lashing out.

The witch gave him a look he couldn't decipher, and then she smirked. "All right then, you give me those said coins, and then…" she suddenly gave him a suggestive look that didn't suit her old features, and it made Bakura inwardly cringe.

"Fine," Bakura growled, and then threw the pouch of coins down on the counter. Taking hold of the potion with a strong, secure grip, Bakura slowly backed away from the counter, and then started out the door in full sprint, the witch chasing after him, yelling unheard things.

Bakura smirked when the elderly witch gave up, and Bakura broke out into a faster pace. Within minutes, the familiar shed came into view, and he slowed down to a halt outside the entryway.

Four heads snapped up in his direction, and Bakura walked in, the potion still in his hand.

Atemu quickly stood up, and walked over to Bakura who was still walking in. "You got it? Are you sure that it's the right one? Why does it smell so weird?"

Bakura gave in a glare that told him to 'shut up'. When the tri-colored haired vampire shut his mouth, Bakura explained, "Yes I got it. And yes, I'm sure that it's the right one. It took me forever to get that witch to hand it over to me." He sniffed the potion. "Didn't notice that before. But it's probably normal side affects for it."

Bakura held out the glass bottle, and Atemu eyed it like he didn't trust it. But nonetheless, he hesitantly took hold of it, and retreated back to where Yugi was lying.

Kneeling down, he popped open the quark, and the odd smell suddenly become even stronger. Putting the potion back onto the ground, Atemu lifted Yugi's cold form up from the ground, and placed him into a sitting position against the crates. Then with two fingers, Atemu softly split Yugi's lips apart, so that the blue potion would be able to slide down the human's throat easily.

Picking the potion up carefully, Atemu put the nozzle to Yugi's lips, and tilted the bottle up, letting the blue liquid slide down the teen's throat.

After empting about half of the bottle, Atemu pulled back, and waited to see what would happen next. After about a minute or two of waiting, Atemu put the nozzle of the potion back up to Yugi's lips and was about to pour the rest of the potion into the boy when Yugi's eyes clenched together tightly, and he started coughing violently.

Atemu's breath hitched as he was engulfed with both happiness, and worry. Happiness because Yugi had somewhat come back from the dead, and worry because the human was coughing like never before. "Yugi?" he asked after a while.

Yugi coughed even more, and Atemu gave Bakura a concerned look. "What's happening?"

Bakura rolled his eyes as he sat down by Ryou. "It's normal, but his body's just adjusting to the new blood forming."

Nodding, Atemu turned back to Yugi, and noticed that something purplish was coming out of the bite marks he and unfortunately Marik created.

Coming closer to the boy, Atemu took a glob of the purple fluid with two fingers, and observed it. Turning his attention back onto Bakura, he snapped, "What the hell is this!"

Bakura observed the fluid on Atemu's fingers, and smirked. "His blood."

"What do you mean 'his blood'? Blood isn't supposed to be this color! Blood is supposed to be red last I knew!"

Bakura sighed in annoyance, and resisted to bang the back of his head on the wooden wall. "Maybe so, but as you _should know_, potions _do_ have side affects, and this is just changing the blood to an abnormal color. He's still human, so stop your ranting already!"

Atemu gave the other vampire one last glance before he turned his attention back to Yugi. To his delight, Yugi had finally decided to open his eyes, and look at Atemu with a confused look. "What happened?" Yugi asked, looking at Atemu's purple colored fingers, and the fact that everyone seemed exhausted. "Did I miss something?"

Atemu smiled a rare smile, and embraced the teen, somewhat glad that the memories of Marik attacking him hadn't made their mark yet in Yugi's mind. "Everything's fine Yugi. You're safe now."

Yugi hugged back, and pondered what happened in the last few days. Within time, memories of previous events flooded his mind, and Yugi shut his eyes tight so that tears could not escape. "Is Marik-"

Yugi was pulled back, and Atemu placed an un-bloodied finger on his lips to silence him. "Marik's gone Yugi, he's been defeated, and will hopefully will stay put in the dungeons for a very long time."

"But then, did he kill me or something?" Yugi asked curiously.

Atemu bit his lip. "…Unfortunately…" he said in a sad tone that made Yugi look down.

Deciding to push away the subject, Yugi looked at Atemu's colored fingers and asked, "What's that stuff on your hand Atemu?"

Atemu lifted his hand, and grinned somewhat sheepishly. "Your blood."

Yugi's eyes widened at the statement, and he stated, "But my blood is supposed to be red, not-"

"Amethyst?" Atemu asked, suddenly realizing that the color wasn't just purple, but amethyst, just like the teen's eyes.

Yugi was at a loss of words, completely knowing that Atemu had just related his blood to his eyes. "Um, yes. Why is it that color?"

"Yugi, when you were dead, Bakura bought a potion that could create new blood for you," a new voice started. "We really don't know how, but when you drank that potion, it made your blood the color it is now. So you'll have to deal with it," Seto concluded.

Yugi shrugged, taking the whole idea to the positive side of the situation as Atemu gave Seto a small glare for his last sentence. "So now what?" he asked when the silence enveloped the group for a while.

Jono shrugged. "Donno. Pretty much all of us are too sore to do anything, and I don't really know how you two feel from what happened." He glanced from Yugi to Ryou. "Guess we all stay here for the night."

After a couple of seconds no one objected to the idea. Sighing, Jono leaned into his boyfriend, and soon the both of them found sleep.

As soon as the doppelganger and werewolf were sound asleep, Bakura and Atemu acknowledged Yugi and Ryou to go to sleep too, for the attack probably had them worn out.

So that left Bakura and Atemu wondering whether they should do with the two humans.

"Lets just send them home, even thought it hurts to say it. They've both been here way too long," Atemu stated, trying to not believe his own words.

Bakura gazed at Ryou for what seemed the thousandth time in five minutes. "Can't we just keep them a little while longer?"

"I'd have to say no."

"Then how do you propose we get them through that damn portal?" Bakura snapped. "The area is loaded with officials and guards, just waiting for a human to pass by."

Atemu seemed to be thinking, but said, "We could disguise them."

"As what? Yugi being a hobbit, or whatever? And Ryou being a-a elf, or something? They wouldn't buy it. They'd be able to sense that a human is thirty feet away," Bakura argued. "We'd have to wait until they let up on all the guarding. And I'm not even sure the portal is open yet anyway."

"Trust me, we can disguise them. Yugi pulled off the hobbit look easily," Atemu tried.

"They. Would. Catch. Us," Bakura said in a choppy way.

Atemu sighed. "Look, lets not argue now, my emotions have been going all over the place today, and I don't need to wake everyone up because you made me angry. We'll figure it out tomorrow," he stated as he stood up and walked over to Yugi, and soon was on the ground with his arm around the teen's middle, fast asleep.

Bakura plopped down himself next to Ryou, and laid back, mimicking the same position with the Ryou like Atemu had done with Yugi.

Closing his eyes, Bakura softly muttered before finding sleep, "But then again, Ryou would make one hot elf."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so no cliffhanger this chapter! So all you readers should hopefully be satisfied. But besides that, I hope you enjoyed reading, and please leave a review!

Oh yeah, next chapter's the last! Hooray!


	17. One Last Spell

A/N: Last chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

"A what?"

The white-headed vampire sighed. "An elf, Ryou."

"But I don't look anything like one!" the teen protested.

Bakura clenched his fists, and quickly unclenched them before he did something he knew he'd regret. "Ryou, disguising yourself as an elf would be easy. You have many features of one."

"Like what?" Ryou scoffed in a childish manner, making Bakura chuckle despite being annoyed.

Bakura took a quick glance at the teen, and concluded, "You have big eyes that make you look like a light elf, your hair is uncut and flowing, and you can be thought as a man or a women at first glance." He smirked when Ryou gave him a shocked look.

Ryou seemed to want to say something, but nothing came out of his open mouth. Pushing the shock away, Ryou inwardly pouted at Bakura's statement, and asked, "But aren't elves supposed to have pointed ears?" He pulled his hair back so that the vampire could look at his ears.

"Don't worry Ryou, we can fix that."

* * *

Yugi shivered when his bare feet met the damp grass.

"Ca-can't I be s-something else Atemu?" Yugi chattered as Atemu smirked at his shivering form.

Atemu ruffled Yugi's hair, messing it up some more, loving it when Yugi glared at him. "But Yugi, you look good as a hobbit. Why, you're the best hobbit I've ever seen."

"I'd ra-rather be disguised as an elf th-though," Yugi stated, trying to warm up his freezing arms. "At least R-Ryou doesn't have t-to take his sh-shoes off."

"Why do we have to be disguised anyway?" Yugi asked.

"Because if we're going to be going into the town, you two need to be something else that is not a human. Even good creatures out there will rat us out," Atemu explained, seeing Yugi shake somewhat violently.

"It's only going to be a fifteen minute walk," Atemu quickly stated, giving poor Yugi a hug to warm him up. "But it's weird, you seem to only become cold when you have your shoes off."

Yugi cuddled into the hug, trying to get as much of Atemu's body heat. "I d-don't know…" he whispered, feeling Atemu's lips connect with his neck.

Atemu took the advantage, and pushed Yugi back a little so that he could see the human in disguise's face, before capturing his slightly blue lips. Yugi softly moaned into the kiss, loving the warmth that he was receiving. He felt Atemu's hand's slip around his waist, as he stood up on his tiptoes.

The crimson-eyed vampire was just about to ask for entrance with his teeth when an annoyed voice entered the moment.

"Are we going to have to wait until you two are finished Atemu? Or should I just take Ryou to the portal myself?"

Pulling back in disappointment, Atemu felt his face heat up slightly as he glared at Bakura for ruining the near-perfect moment. Pushing his blush down, Atemu asked gruffly, "Is Ryou ready to go? Yugi is."

Bakura smirked as he watched his friend hide his red face. "Yes, ears and all," he stated, the smirk still on his face, as he pulled Ryou's hair back gently to reveal the teen's shaped ears. "Lets go," he said quickly as he grabbed at Ryou's hand, and walked passed the two look-a-likes.

To Atemu's relief, his blush had been eliminated, and he smiled as he looked at Yugi's even redder face. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Yugi nodded, obviously biting his lip in the process. "Hey, what ever happened to Jono and Seto?" he suddenly asked, looking around.

Atemu swung his arm around Yugi's middle as he began walking the way Bakura and Ryou had gone. "I woke up before they left. Jono said that he needed to get Seto some medical attention, but they made sure that you and Ryou were okay before they left," he explained, stepping over a fallen branch.

Yugi shivered. "I'm glad that they helped. Seto did look pretty beaten up back there," he remarked.

Atemu nodded, starting to faintly see the orange lights of the village.

* * *

"So how are we going to do this? The guarding is still pretty heavy."

Atemu looked over his shoulder to see the two disguised teens. "We can't use any spells, I'm broke, and if we use any, we'll be caught for sure when we come back."

Bakura nodded at the information. "We could make a run for it."

Atemu quirked an eyebrow. "Are you serious? They'd take action the moment we start running!" he exclaimed.

The albino vampire thought for a moment. "We could use smoke bombs…"

"Now you're just asking to be put into the dungeons with Marik," Atemu stated, rolling his eyes.

"Well I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas!" Bakura shouted in a whisper.

Atemu sighed. There didn't seem to be any way to get into the portals without being captured. They'd either be captured, and the two teens would be killed, and Bakura and him would be charged, or worse. Then, an idea popped into his head. "Do you still know Ishizu?"

Bakura's eyes widened. "Hell no! I'm not going to even ask for her help!"

"Please Bakura? You two were so compatible before. Why wouldn't she help you now?" Atemu asked, wondering why Bakura had such an attitude towards the sorceress at the moment.

Bakura mumbled something, making Atemu strain to hear what he had said. "What?" he asked when he didn't get the message.

"I blew her home up! She hates my guts now, so she won't help us!" Bakura shrieked.

Atemu was confused. "When did you do that?"

"Two months ago. No more questions."

Ryou and Yugi looked at each other quizzically, wondering whom this 'Ishizu' person was, and what she could to do help them.

Atemu sighed. "Do you at least know where she lives now?"

Bakura growled. Oh how he hated the woman's guts. "How should I know? I don't have her on a leash!"

"Bakura…"

"On 44th Avenue."

"Thank you."

* * *

The vampire sighed as he made it to the designated home, without the two humans being caught. Raising his fist, Atemu gingerly knocked on the wooden door, and heard someone mutter 'I'm coming, I'm coming' on the other side of the door.

As the door opened, it revealed the said sorceress, and within moments, she had a huge smile on her face, as she captured the vampire in a crushing hug, her magic fuming all around her.

"Atemu, it's so good to see you," Ishizu greeted. Looking over the vampire's shoulder, she noticed the two humans. "Are they your dinner?" she asked, assuming the first thing that came to her mind.

Atemu chuckled. "No Ishizu," he corrected. Leaning to her ear, he whispered, "They're humans, and we need your help to get them back to their world without being caught."

Ishizu blinked, as she soon realized that the two beings behind Atemu weren't what they seemed to be. "What do you mean by 'we'?" she asked.

Atemu grinned sheepishly, and took a step to the side, revealing the other vampire, who seemed to be cowering. "Ah…hi…?"

The sorceress' aura seemed to darken, as did her blue eyes. "What the _hell_ are you doing here Bakura! Didn't I tell you to never come to me again!" she screamed, making Bakura cringe.

Deciding that Ishizu would tear Bakura apart before his very eyes if he waited any longer, Atemu stepped back in, and pushed the woman inside, and at the same time grabbed Bakura and the two teens as he entered the house. Closing the door behind him so that no one could peek on in their conversation, Atemu sighed.

"Ishizu, it was my idea, so please do not get upset with Bakura," Atemu reasoned, seeing the woman's face relax with each word.

"Then what do you need?" Ishizu asked, slight venom still in her voice.

"We need you to cast a spell around us so that we can get through the portal," Bakura explained gruffly.

Ishizu put a finger on her lip in thought. "The portal is still being guarded?" she asked aloud, earning two nods. She glanced towards Yugi and Ryou. "They explain it though," she commented.

Atemu ignored the sorceress' comment, and stepped forward. "So can you cast anything on us to enable us to get through?" he asked, hoping that she'd say yes.

Pacing around, Ishizu grabbed her spell book, and flipped through the pages. "Would you handle being turned into toads?" she asked, her eyes still in the book.

Yugi and Ryou looked at each other with frightened looks.

"I'm just kidding…" Ishizu muttered with a laugh when she received no response. "How about…would you deal with an invisible spell? It'll make you go unseen in this world, but in any other world, it wouldn't work."

Atemu's ears perked at the statement. "We'll take it!" he exclaimed happily. "How long will it take to prepare?" he asked.

Ishizu squinted her eyes to see the small print better. "Well, since I can't master all magic as of now, I'm still considered what everyone calls a 'noobie'. So just to gather all of the magic to cast this spell, I'll need several months of training, and on about average, it'll take about a year to prepare."

Atemu felt his eye twitch, and he could hear Bakura release a deathly low growl in his throat. He wasn't too sure about Yugi and Ryou.

Looking at the serious sorceress, Atemu felt his mouth fall open a tad, and he muttered, "Are you sure?"

Ishizu looked at him with a grave look, which made him immediately believe every word she had just let out. Within moments, Atemu felt that the tension of the news was becoming too thick, when Ishizu burst out laughing.

"I-I can't believe you ac-actually fell for it!" she laughed. "An-and you tho-thought that I was the idiotic one?" she snorted a couple time, making Yugi and Ryou come out of their stupors.

Coming to his senses, Atemu narrowed his eyes, thankful that Bakura had stayed back. "Ishizu, are you going to cast the spell or not? We can get someone-"

"No, no. I just like messin' with ya!" Ishizu cut in, taking the vampire's arm as he began to turn around. "Let me just power up."

* * *

Yugi and Ryou gazed with wonder as blue and silver sparkles fell around the four of them. Were they invisible yet? They were just dying to know.

"All done," Ishizu announced as she placed her wand back into her pocket. "The spell should take affect soon."

Bakura and Atemu seemed to let out a sigh of relief as the sorceress let out the news. "So when we come back through the portal, we'll both still be invisible?" Bakura asked, his voice a little relaxed.

"Yup." Ishizu smiled. "And just because you all fell for my trick, you don't have to pay me. But seriously, you should've seen the looks on your faces; especially yours Bakura; priceless," she stated, lightly pinching the white-headed vampire's cheek.

Swatting the hand away, Bakura growled. Could they leave yet? Ishizu seemed a lot crazier than he remembered…she probably when psycho when he burnt her house down.

Suddenly, Ishizu was jumping up and down in excitement. "It's working! It's working! You're all turning invisible! This is probably the first spell that's actually worked in months!"

"Ah, well, we'll be seeing you soon Ishizu, thanks!" Atemu said hurriedly, pushing the three others out the door, wanting to get away from the crazed sorceress.

As soon as the portal with guards all around came into view, Bakura and Atemu grabbed the two teen's hands. "We're going to make a run for it, okay? So stay as quiet as you can, and be prepared for anything that may come our way," Bakura explained to Ryou and Yugi, who nodded twice. "We'll have to go two at a time. Ryou and I will go first," Bakura added.

Making sure that the runway was clear, Atemu and Yugi watched as vampire and human made a run for it. Within seconds, they had disappeared into the portal without any complications.

"Ready Yugi?" Atemu asked, squeezing Yugi's hand reassuringly.

Yugi nodded, squeezing back.

Stepping out into the open space, Atemu started running towards the portal, and Yugi ran as fast as he could to keep up with Atemu's abnormal speed. Within what seemed to be milliseconds, they had left dark, damp, and orange surroundings, and were met with shadows created from sunlight.

* * *

Yugi blinked at the brightness, even if he was surrounded by shadows. He had grown so used to the darkness, he had almost forgotten what sunlight looked and felt like. Directing his gaze down, he was grateful to see that his shoes were now secure to his feet. Looking around, he noticed that they were in the woods part of Domino Park, and that his hand was not attached to Atemu's anymore.

Swerving his head around, he soon spotted Atemu running to his left. "Atemu! Wait!" he called out, going after the vampire.

Coming to a stop behind Atemu, Yugi looked at where Atemu was staring, and let out a small gasp. Bakura was shaking, and sweating like crazy, as Ryou held him in his small hold. "What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"We didn't expect it to be daytime when we arrived. Bakura needs to get out of here, or he'll burn up," Atemu explained. "He's not a daywalker like me, so he can't survive in the sunlight. I think that you should say your goodbyes Ryou, he needs to get back to his world."

Ryou nodded slowly, and hugged the albino Dracula one last time, placing a small kiss on the burning lips. "Come visit me, okay?" he murmured.

"How could I not?" Bakura breathed back, attempting a smirk, but only managed half of one.

Handing the burning vampire to Atemu, Atemu walked Bakura back to the portal, and helped him through. Walking back to the teens, Atemu smiled. "You can get home from here Ryou?" he asked, hoping that Bakura's sudden departure didn't suddenly depress the teen.

Fortunately for him, Ryou smiled and nodded, turning on his heel, and before he was out of earshot, stated, "See ya tomorrow Yugi."

Once the albino teen was out of sight, Yugi turned to Atemu. "So, ah…"

"I can walk you home," Atemu stated simply, putting a finger on the teen's lips.

Nodding in agreement, Yugi took Atemu's hand in his, and started to walk out of the park.

* * *

"Yugi! Where have you been?" a concerned Solomon Motou asked as he burst through the Game Shop's door.

Letting Atemu's hand go quicker than intended to, Yugi ran up to his grandpa, capturing him in a hug. "I'm sorry I left early Grandpa, but I promised my friend Atemu that I'd show him the city since he's new here. Sorry I didn't tell you last night."

Solomon Motou sighed a sigh of relief, and pulled his grandson back. "You better tell me where you intend to go next time Yugi, I was just about to call the police," he stated in a stern voice. "This happened yesterday too," he slightly recalled, going into unnecessary deep thought.

Getting himself out of his grandpa's grip, Yugi turned to Atemu, and asked in a childish voice, "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure," Atemu agreed with a smirk, taking Yugi's hand again as the smaller led him inside, and then upstairs to the small living room.

Sitting down on the couch, Yugi blushed for what seemed to be no reason. "So when will I get to see you again?" he asked in a shy tone.

Atemu smiled as Yugi fought down his blush. "Anytime you want…or I could just pop my head in whenever I have to time."

"It sounds like you'd just do that to scare me; and when it could be three in the morning," Yugi scoffed playfully, sliding closer to the Dracula.

Atemu put on a shocked face. "Oh Yugi, you know I wouldn't do that. Not to you," he said with sarcasm.

Yugi gently punched him in the arm. "You know I'm not oblivious to your sarcasm anymore, right?" he asked as Atemu pecked him on the cheek.

"But I liked it when you were…" Atemu half moaned. "It made it easier to control your mind…" he added.

Yugi didn't hear the last statement, and allowed Atemu to trail kisses from his exposed neck, and onto his face, inching closer and closer to his lips.

Feeling that Atemu was just taking forever on purpose, Yugi forcefully grabbed the vampire's face, and passionately kissed him, feeling Atemu slightly shudder at the unexpected action.

Inwardly smirking, Atemu quickly took Yugi's small hands from his face, and lowered them to the open space on the couch beside them. Taking advantage, Atemu forcefully kissed back, hearing a slight moan come from Yugi. Wanting to suddenly finish where they left off before in his world, Atemu gently bit down on Yugi's bottom lip, asking for entrance.

Yugi happily complied, and opened up, allowing Atemu to explore. A couple minutes later of a battle of tongues, and exploration of hot caverns, the human and vampire finally broke apart, for the need of air was building up.

Lightly panting, with slightly bruised lips, Yugi smiled, and hugged Atemu like there was no tomorrow. Atemu took in the boy's scent one last time. "I'll miss you," Yugi mumbled into Atemu's shirt.

"Me too," Atemu replied. "But I'll try to come over as much as possible." Looking over Yugi's shoulder, Atemu looked at the time that read 4:37 p.m. Pulling back, Atemu gave Yugi one last kiss before saying, "I need to get going, Bakura might have gotten too much sunlight, and could be causing havoc as we speak."

Yugi smiled. "Alright. I love you."

Standing up from the couch, Atemu started to leave, but before he made his departure down the stairs, he whispered loud enough for Yugi to hear, "I love you too. See ya."

He disappeared down the stairs.

* * *

-Two Months Later-

"Yugi, are you almost done?"

"No, not yet Grandpa, I'm still cutting the tomatoes."

Yugi smiled when his grandpa audibly sighed with hunger. Turning his attention back onto the dinner he was making, Yugi continued to slice the tomato into thin strips.

Slice after slice was cut, and he started on another tomato. Nearly done with the tomato, Yugi's hand accidentally slipped, and he cut the tip of his finger open, and blood immediately started to ooze out.

"Ow!" Yugi cried, dropping the knife down on the counter, as he grasped his hand. But he stopped his movements as soon as he looked at the blood dripping out of his finger.

Amethyst.

His blood was still amethyst colored. Even in this world, it still was amethyst. Still staring at it, Yugi didn't hear his grandpa come in.

"Yugi? What's wrong? I heard you yell," Solomon asked with worry, peeking over his grandson's shoulder. As soon as he caught a glimpse of Yugi's blood, he immediately sprang into action.

"Yugi! Here, come over to the sink, and wash that, I'll get a band-aid," Yugi's grandfather stated hurriedly, moving Yugi over to the sink, and turning it on, and since Yugi still didn't move, he took the teen's finger and put it under the running water.

Coming back to his senses when the water stung his cut, Yugi noticed that his grandpa didn't say anything about the color of his blood. When his grandpa came back with a band-aid, and some disinfectant, Yugi suddenly asked, "What's the color of my blood?"

Solomon gave his grandson a confused look at the question, but simply answered, "Red Yugi, what other color could it be? Green? Yellow?"

Yugi bit his lip in embarrassment, but just mumbled, "Never mind."

As soon as the band-aid was wrapped around his finger, and free of any germs, Yugi continued serving dinner, and momentarily forgot the amethyst color when he and his grandpa sat down for dinner.

As promised, Solomon washed the dishes, and Yugi retreated back to his room. Closing the door behind him, he switched the lights on, only to jump a good five feet up. "Atemu!"

Atemu smirked, and somewhat stalked up to the boy, quickly noticing the bandaged up finger. "What happened here?" he asked, holding up the hand, and then gave the finger a small kiss.

"I cut myself when I was making dinner…" Yugi replied lamely. "My blood is still amethyst," he announced.

Atemu smirked. "Good. I like it when people are different." Another kiss to the finger.

Yugi blushed, and gave Atemu a squeezing hug, since he hadn't seen the vampire in over a month. "Is the portal still being guarded?"

Atemu smiled. "No, and thank Ra that it isn't. Bakura nearly beat up three guards when they announced that the portal wouldn't be open until next year," he explained. Yugi gave him a confused look. "But the whole town protested, and they did one last check of any humans, and when they found none, then they opened the portal."

"That's good. At least you won't have to use any more invisibility spells to get through," Yugi sighed, still clinging to Atemu.

"Mmmhmm."

Glancing at the clock, Yugi saw that it read 9:57 p.m. "I had a late dinner, and I have school tomorrow. I should be getting to bed," he announced, suddenly remembering that it was only Wednesday. "Join me tonight?"

Atemu's eyes immediately lit up as he watched Yugi crawl into bed. A lot quicker than he intended, the Dracula slipped into the bed with the teen, and wrapped a hand around Yugi's waist.

"Goodnight Yugi," he whispered into the boy's ear, smiling when Yugi shivered.

"G'night Atemu," Yugi whispered back as he turned off his lamp, and then turned around to cuddle into Atemu's warm chest.

A couple minutes of silence passed, and Yugi shivered again.

"Something wrong Yugi?" Atemu asked, bringing the human closer.

"I'm cold," Yugi replied, seeking more warmth.

"Do you have your shoes off?" Atemu asked, shifting his own feet so that they touched Yugi's bare ones.

"Yes. Why?"

"That explains it."

* * *

A/N: Done! I hoped everyone enjoyed the story, and I appreciate everyone who read and reviewed! (Hands out cupcakes) Okay, I know that little bit with Ishizu was OOC, but I didn't feel like writing it like she was the most boring person in the world. It just makes the story more entertaining. And I'm sorry about Bakura and Ryou's sudden departure.

So yet again, I thank everyone! Please read and review!

Until next time,

SwimmingSamurai


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